This National Weather Service map displays expected average accumulations of snow. Some locations will receive more, some will receive less, forecasters said.

By Katherine M. Landergan, Globe Correspondent, and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Old Man Winter will make a return engagement on Friday, bringing snow and rain to much of Eastern Massachusetts and dumping as much as 10 inches of snow on some areas in the Central and Western parts of the Commonwealth, forecasters said tonight.

Areas west and northwest of Interstate 495 will be the hardest hit, getting from 6 to 10 inches of snow, forecasters from the National Weather Service in Taunton predicted.

The Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for all parts of the state except the Islands that began tonight and will be in effect until 2 a.m. Saturday. The snow will be heavy and wet and could lead to problems during this morning’s commute in harder-hit areas. It could also bring down tree branches and power lines, forecasters warned.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

There were no eyewitnesses to the shooting of Julissa Brisman at the high-end Boston Marriott Copley Place hotel, but, according to documents released today by authorities, three people -- a mother and a teenaged son, and a woman in her 20s – appear to have witnessed Brisman’s final moments.

Audio

Listen to excerpts from a police interview with Philip Markoff

Listen to excerpts from a police interview with Megan McAllister, Markoff's ex-fiancee

Related

Timeline in photos:
The Craigslist attacks

• Files tell more about ‘Craigslist killer’
• pdf Transcript of Philip Markoff's interview with police
• pdf Transcript of Megan McAllister's interview with police
• 3/18/10 Markoff stabbed, suffocated himself
• Video The Big Story
• Video Suffolk DA describes suicide
• Fox: Did Markoff's death deny justice, or just us?
• Sheriff: Markoff showed no signs of planning to kill self
• Accused ‘Craigslist Killer’ an
  apparent suicide in jail cell
• Boy-next-door image
  shattered by accusations
• Timeline of the Markoff case
• More coverage of the case

Police redacted the last names of the witnesses in transcripts of their interviews with detectives. One woman, identified by her first name, Emily, was described as a model in her 20s who came into Boston from Florida to meet a girlfriend. She told detectives she and the girlfriend had dinner with two men at the Sonsie restaurant and then she returned to the Marriott.

“I was walking down the hallway and I saw, like, a mess of stuff on the right side,’’ Emily told police, according to the transcript. “And then I got closer, I realized it was a person and I screamed. And then I kind of like walked away as far as possible.’’

Emily said she then noticed another woman down the hallway – police identified her as the mother whose first name is Jane – standing at the entrance to her hotel room. Jane asked Emily if the woman lying in the doorway of the room between their two rooms was a child and Emily replied that the person lying in the hallway was a woman.

“I went in [my room]…and then I called the front desk and told them to call 911,’’ Emily told police. She said she told the hotel’s front desk to summon police and an ambulance. Emily told police she did not see any blood, and assumed that the woman lying in the hallway was drunk and passed out.

Emily told police she did not try to provide first aid.

“You never touched her?’’ a detective asked.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

State environmental and health officials say no radioactive iodine has been found in samples taken from surface water bodies that serve as drinking water supplies throughout the state.

Samples taken from the Wachusett and Quabbin reservoirs also found no detectable levels of I-131, the agencies said in a statement.

By Martin Finucane and Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

Philip Markoff, the so-called Craigslist killer, told homicide detectives "I don't really know what you're talking about" in an interview on the day he was arrested for a deadly crime spree that included the murder of a young woman during a robbery attempt gone bad at a downtown hotel.

In a dramatic interview that reads like a scene right out of a TV crime show, a sympathetic-seeming detective tried to get Markoff to at least admit it was Markoff's image that had been captured on surveillance cameras at the hotels where the crimes occurred. Then the detective confronted him directly.

Audio

Listen to excerpts from a police interview with Philip Markoff

Listen to excerpts from a police interview with Megan McAllister, Markoff's ex-fiancee

Related

Timeline in photos:
The Craigslist attacks

• Files tell more about ‘Craigslist killer’
• pdf Transcript of Philip Markoff's interview with police
• pdf Transcript of Megan McAllister's interview with police
• 3/18/10 Markoff stabbed, suffocated himself
• Video The Big Story
• Video Suffolk DA describes suicide
• Fox: Did Markoff's death deny justice, or just us?
• Sheriff: Markoff showed no signs of planning to kill self
• Accused ‘Craigslist Killer’ an
  apparent suicide in jail cell
• Boy-next-door image
  shattered by accusations
• Timeline of the Markoff case
• More coverage of the case

"I'm going to ask you, Philip," the detective continued, "the first incident that I spoke to at the Westin Hotel, a girl was robbed, did you have anything to do with that?"

"No," said Markoff.

"Philip..." began the detective.

"Well, I just answered you," Markoff said.

"There was a girl in a hotel room that was tied up and robbed in the Westin. That's her story. Were you in the room that night?"

"I didn't tie up and rob anybody," Markoff said.

"You didn't tie up and rob anybody. Could you have been in that room and maybe somebody else did?" the detective said.

"No," said Markoff.

At one point under persistent questioning, Markoff grew frustrated.

"Do you have any specific memory of having a hassle with a girl?" the detective asked.

"No," said Markoff.

By Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff

Arthur Cinelli, the brother of Domenic Cinelli, the ex-convict who shot and killed Woburn Police officer Jack Maguire during a Dec. 26 armed robbery, was indicted today in connection with the killing.

Arthur Cinelli, 50, of Newburyport was charged with conspiracy to commit masked armed robbery and accessory before the fact to masked armed robbery.

He is being held in New Hampshire on unrelated federal drug charges but is expected to be arraigned in Woburn Superior Court within several weeks.

The shooting of Officer Maguire by Domenic Cinelli, a dangerous career offender who had been released on parole, raised concerns about the Massachusetts Parole Board, ultimately leading to sweeping changes at the board. Domenic Cinelli was also killed in the shootout with Maguire.

Boston police

Boston police photograph of Philip Markoff shoes on the date of his arrest. Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said the shoes are stained with Julissa Brisman's blood.

By John R. Ellement, Maria Cramer, and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

When he was arrested, Philip Markoff, the so-called Craigslist killer, was wearing shoes stained with the blood of the woman he had killed, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.

Audio

Listen to excerpts from a police interview with Philip Markoff

Listen to excerpts from a police interview with Megan McAllister, Markoff's ex-fiancee

Related

Timeline in photos:
The Craigslist attacks

• Files tell more about ‘Craigslist killer’
• pdf Transcript of Philip Markoff's interview with police
• pdf Transcript of Megan McAllister's interview with police
• 3/18/10 Markoff stabbed, suffocated himself
• Video The Big Story
• Video Suffolk DA describes suicide
• Fox: Did Markoff's death deny justice, or just us?
• Sheriff: Markoff showed no signs of planning to kill self
• Accused ‘Craigslist Killer’ an
  apparent suicide in jail cell
• Boy-next-door image
  shattered by accusations
• Timeline of the Markoff case
• More coverage of the case

"He had Julissa Brisman's blood on him, literally," he said in a news conference at his office.

Conley said his office was releasing thousands of pages of documents, audiotapes of interviews with Markoff and other principals in the case, surveillance videos of Markoff, and photographs taken by investigators.

"In essence, you will have every bit of evidence a jury would have,'' Conley said.

He said the evidence that Markoff had killed Brisman was "overwhelming, absolute, and incontrovertible. ... There is no doubt that he committed these crimes."

Conley said some photographs of Brisman were not being released and that the Brisman family had been given the photos, along with a copy of the files, today.

“Those documents reflect the memory of a vibrant young woman who came to Boston and fell victim to a predator,’’ Conley said.

Conley spoke to reporters with a table in front of him covered with some of the evidence, including a hollowed-out copy of the medical textbook, "Gray's Anatomy." Prosecutors say Markoff used the book to hide his gun, a Springfield Armory XD-9 semiautomatic pistol. Photographs collected as part of the case were pinned to a bulletin board, including a photo of Markoff's shoes.

By Globe Staff

Nick McGrath said today he doesn’t really remember what he said when he kicked in the door of a Newton home last night. But he knows it needed to be done.

“The house was filling with smoke,’’ said McGrath. “They (the residents) had absolutely no idea the house was burning.’’

McGrath is a Newton firefighter who was returning home from the department’s Station 2 when he drove down Auburndale Road and saw smoke and flames coming from a three-family building.

He stopped his vehicle after seeing a panicked woman standing outside the home.

“There was a woman out front that was yelling’’ about the family on the second floor, he said. “So I just went in. No one answered the door. I kicked in the door. ... They were surprised.’’

By Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff

Steve Cornell has had a prosthetic leg for decades, and he recently underwent shoulder surgery, but something about what he saw inside his neighborhood convenience store in Middleton Wednesday night stirred him to take action.

The friendly, likable convenience store owner was being robbed at gunpoint and Cornell – who was outside taking money out of an ATM -- knew he needed to help.

“I just wanted to say hello, and I noticed he was being robbed,” said Cornell, a 55-year-old father of two. “I waited until [the robber] came outside the door and I kind of pounced on him.”

He added, “I reacted, just to try and grab the guy when he was coming out. He didn’t know I was outside.”

Both men fell, and the stumble allowed the owner of the JC Grill and Convenience Store on North Main Street to continue to chase the robber. The owner, who was not identified today, eventually tracked him down and subdued him. Cornell followed to help subdue the man until police could arrive.

Boston Fire Department

Boston firefighters are shown as they pull Edward Rowe to the surface on Wednesday.

By Mike Bello and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Despite falling 30 feet into the interior of a concrete pillar, Edward Rowe remained calm as he struggled to alert co-workers of the life-threatening danger he suddenly found himself in.

“1820 to Central,’’ Rowe radioed Wednesday morning to his supervisors the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s dispatcher. “I fell into a manhole.’’

Listen to Rowe's call
to the dispatcher:

“Sorry, sir, you fell into a manhole?” the T dispatcher replied. “Can you tell me exactly where you are so I can get you some help?’’

Rowe then struggled to provide some more information on his location -- he was at the Red Line's Charles Street/MGH Station at the time -- as the T dispatcher ordered another worker, known by the radio call sign of 146, to see if he could discover where Rowe was.

The T worker known as 146 started shouting, “Hello!’’ and then suddenly heard Rowe shouting back in reply.

“Help!’’ Rowe could be heard shouting.

By Vivian Ho, Globe Correspondent, and John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff

NEWTON -- An off-duty Newton firefighter was hailed a hero today after he rushed into a burning house, with no protective gear, raced up to the second floor and rescued a family of three.

Firefighter Nick McGrath entered the multi-family house at 16 Auburndale Ave. and broke down the family's door after a woman running out of the first floor told him that people were still inside, Newton Fire Chief Bruce Proia said tonight.

“He busted through the front door [of the building], went up the stairs, and busted through the [family's] door,” Proia said.

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff

Nearly 35,000 students applied to Harvard College this year and 2,158, or 6.2 percent, were accepted into the class of 2015, the college has announced.

The letters bearing the good news to accepted applicants were mailed today, the school said in a statement.

As expected, the accepted students have stellar academic backgrounds, with about 45 percent of them scoring 700 or above on one or more portions of the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Eleven percent of the accepted students are the highest-ranked in their high school classes.

This National Weather Service snow forecast map shows expected average accumulation. Some locations will receive less, some will receive more.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Call it "A Tale of Two Snowstorms."

In the Boston area and in Southeastern Massachusetts, a nor'easter arriving Thursday night will likely bring a mere 1 to 3 inches of snow, as warmer air along the coast turns the precipitation into rain, forecasters said.

But in the state's interior, it will be a different story. National Weather Service forecasters today issued a winter storm warning, effective from late Thursday night through late Friday night, predicting 6 to 12 inches of snow in Central and Western Massachusetts.

A weather service snow forecast map issued this afternoon showed areas in northern Worcester County would be hit hardest.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley said today during a public hearing that she was raped as a college student at Boston University.

Speaking at the council's weekly meeting at City Hall, Pressley made the revelation as she discussed an upcoming hearing to examine sexual assaults on local college campuses. Pressley had previously described herself as a survivor of sexual assault as both a child and an adult, but she had not provided specifics.

"I am a survivor of sexual assault while a college student," Pressley said, without mentioning that she attended Boston University. "Mine is a truth shared by 17.7 million American women. And like 90 percent of rape survivors, I knew my attacker."

By Aram Boghosian, Globe Correspondent and Eric Moskowitz and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Three Boston firefighters involved in today’s dramatic rescue of a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority worker said they drew on their specialized training and also had the help of the injured man who was determined to escape his concrete trap.

“He was in a lot of pain and clearly he was anxious,’’ said Gary Dardia, who was one of two firefighters lowered some 30 feet into a concrete shaft underneath the elevated tracks at the Red Line’s Charles Street/MGH station this morning.

"He wanted out of that hole,’’ Dardia added. “He was cooperative. He helped us the best he could under the condition he was in.’’

Dardia, firefighter Ballin Wright and Fire Captain Richard Connelly were lead players in the rescue of Edward Rowe, an MBTA electrician who was cutting power to the third rail so repair workers could safely get on the Longfellow Bridge around 4:20 a.m.

By Jenna Duncan, Globe Correspondent

Nearly $10,000 worth of food and supplies owned by the Westford public schools must be thrown away because conditions were found at the storage facility containing the goods were found to be substandard by the town's Board of Health, officials said.

The district has used the barn-like warehouse on Town Farm Road for about 35 years to store frozen food and dry goods, such as boxes of Styrofoam trays, Superintendent Everett Olsen said.

Director of Health Care Services Sandy Collins said that when the property was inspected, three major violations were found. She said they involved sanitary conditions and storage issues, the security of the building, and the rotation schedule of the food.

Neither Collins nor Olsen would say exactly what violations had been found.

By Globe Staff

A man eluded State Police after his car was pulled over this afternoon for a traffic stop on Interstate 93 near Exit 47 in Methuen.

The man fled into nearby woods, said State Police spokesman David Procopio.

By Globe Staff

The Boston police bomb squad today responded to a Sprague Street address to investigate a report that a grenade had been delivered there – only to learn the grenade was fake and that the address was actually in the neighboring town of Dedham.

Police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said Boston police received a 911 call from someone reporting that UPS had delivered a grenade inside a package dropped off at 65 Sprague St. in Hyde Park.

Holly Piirainen's picture looks down from a billboard above I-93.

By Globe Staff

She was a 10-year-old girl who went out to play with a neighbor's puppies -- and never came back.

Seventeen years ago, Holly Piirainen of Grafton and her younger brother were on vacation in Sturbridge in early August when they went to the neighbor's house. The boy returned without her after 20 minutes, and an investigation was launched.

In October of that year, her skeletal remains were found by hunters in Brimfield, 5 miles away The case has never been solved.

Now her family is hoping a billboard along Interstate 93 in Medford will help generate clues.

Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff

All eyes, both real and painted, were on Evergreen Solar chief executive Michael El-Hillow as he testified at a legislative hearing Wednesday, defending the company's elimination of more than 800 jobs in the state despite receiving state aid.

Globe deputy city editor Mike Bello talks about the dramatic rescue today of an MBTA worker who fell into a 30-foot-deep hole at the Charles/MGH Station.

By Globe Staff

The state's highest court has rejected the appeal of a man who challenged his conviction more than 40 years after he was found guilty of first-degree murder.

John Petetabella is serving life in prison without parole for the December 1963 killing of Jean Thibeault, a Fall River pub owner. He was convicted, along with two other men, in July 1964.

He asked the Supreme Judicial Court in 2008 for a new trial.

But the Supreme Judicial Court today, in an opinion written by Justice Robert Cordy, concluded that a lower court judge's denial of his appeal "was not manifestly unjust, nor was the trial infected with prejudicial error."

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff

A single-family home in East Boston sustained serious damage Tuesday night when a basement electrical short circuit sparked a two-alarm fire.

No one was injured in the fire at the 2 ½-story wood frame house at 211 Havre St., said Steve MacDonald, a Boston Fire spokesman. The fire broke out at 9:08 p.m. and quickly spread to the main floor.

MacDonald estimated the damage at $200,000. Two adults lived in the house, and they will be staying with friends, he said.

A neighboring house, only inches away in the densely settled East Boston neighborhood, escaped damage thanks to the quick and aggressive work of firefighters, officials said.

By Cara Bayles, Globe Correspondent

As the Dorchester Board of Trade celebrated its 100-year anniversary today, keynote speaker Mayor Thomas Menino laid out plans to bolster the local economy as it slowly makes a comeback from the recession.

The service that would help small businesses navigate municipal bureaucracy won applause from luncheon guests, who were business owners, directors of various Main Streets initiatives, and other leaders in Dorchester, a community known for its civic involvement. (The mayor quipped that "Dorchester has more meetings per square inch than anywhere else in the world.")

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Friday will be April Fool's Day, but forecasters have issued a wintry forecast calling for snow -- and that's no joke.

While noting that their confidence in their predictions is still low, National Weather Service forecasters are saying more than 6 inches of snow could fall Friday in the higher-elevation interior sections of Massachusetts, 2 to 5 inches could fall in the Boston area, and 2 to 3 inches could fall on the southern coast of the state.

"Exact amounts are difficult to pin down. ... There's still some uncertainty," said Matt Doody, a meteorologist in the weather service's Taunton office. "The key is going to be where the low ultimately tracks."

He said a low-pressure system is expected to move up the coast from the mid-Atlantic states. Right now, it's expected to track just east of Cape Cod, pulling in colder air from the north and causing mostly snow to fall across the area.

Reporter Milton J. Valencia talks about the theft of US Representative William R. Keating's car early this morning.

George Rizer/Globe Staff

Among the many fires covered by Bill Noonan was the James Hook & Co. lobster business fire on Boston's waterfront in May 2008.

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

Legendary fire photographer Bill Noonan is retiring Wednesday after 39 years of service at the Boston Fire Department. The author of four photography books, he has published pictures in The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, as well as in national fire publications.

“I’ll never put the camera away,” said Noonan, who has taken thousands of pictures during his career.

Fire department spokesman Steve MacDonald credited Noonan with a human touch as he photographed many tragic scenes over the years, including fatal conflagrations.

“He would always handle it with the dignity the deceased deserved,” MacDonald said.

Quincy Police Department

Brothers Kenneth Babij (left) and Christopher Babij (right) are accused of stealing US Representative William R. Keating's car in Quincy.

By Milton J. Valencia and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

QUINCY -- Two brothers from Quincy pleaded not guilty today to charges they stole US Representative William R. Keating's aging Lexus from his Quincy home early this morning.

Christopher J. Babij, 25, and his 20-year-old brother, Kenneth Babij, were arrested by Quincy police while still inside Keating’s Lexus about 10 minutes after he reported it stolen around 2:45 a.m. today.

The brothers appeared in Quincy District Court where Kenneth Babij was sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for a substance abuse evaluation after a court clinician reported that he is using three grams of heroin daily using hypodermic needles. He also faces drug charges in Wareham District Court.

His older brother, Christopher, was ordered held on $2,500 cash bail. His attorney, Sheila Murphy, said in court that her client has a criminal history but only for non-violent crimes.

By Jenna Duncan, Globe Correspondent

Belmont police are searching for a man who stole $150 from St. Joseph Parish this morning.

Around 11 a.m., a church employee reported that she had discovered a man in a restricted area of the church office. The man asked for help and was given a referral, police said.

State Police released this video, which was taken from the helicopter during the search.

By John R. Ellement and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A distraught woman was found in a semiconscious state near Walden Pond today by helicopter-borne State Police troopers who scanned the area using special infrared sensing equipment.

Concord police launched a search for the woman around 4:15 a.m. and asked State Police for help. Around 6 a.m., troopers assigned to Air 4, a State Police helicopter started an airborne search for the woman.

Trooper John Hazelrigg, the pilot, and Trooper Ronald Baker, the tactical flight officer, used forward-looking infrared radar imaging as they scoured the heavily wooded area and, 14 minutes later, spotted the woman, State Police said in a statement.

By Globe Staff

A 24-year-old man whose body was found by the side of a road in Fall River early Monday was a victim of homicide, Bristol County prosecutors said today.

The body of Brian Januario was found at about 12:45 a.m. Monday near 724 Wilson Road, Bristol District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter's office said in a statement.

Local and State Police are investigating.

View Larger Map

By Globe Staff

A man who claimed to have a firearm robbed a Bank of America branch in the Waban section of Newton this morning, leading to the temporary lockdown of a nearby elementary school, local police said.

No one was hurt during the robbery, which took place shortly after 9:30 a.m., police said.

Unfortunately, I have lived in Worcester all my life, and it is an ugly, bombed-out, filthy, old, exhausted New England mill town that will probably never rise again.

-- Scott Wolfe, responding to Brian McGrory's column, "Wowed in Worcester"

The city does have excellent restaurants, world-class colleges, and a surging biotech industry. ... Maybe the next time McGrory is in Worcester, he could actually try a meal or explore the city's other virtues.

-- Rory Harrity

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

Massachusetts likes to bill itself as a high tech hub, but the seat of government itself is struggling with some 19th-century technology problems today.

Many of the State House’s phone lines are not working, meaning legislators, members of the Patrick administration (and the Globe's State House reporters) have their cellphones pressed to their ears, even more so than usual.

A bulletin from the Bureau of State Office Buildings blames the problem on a "critical error" in the controls that connect to copper telephone lines, creating “intermittent issues throughout the building.”

Verizon is fixing the problem.

By Brian R. Ballou and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A 28-year-old Dorchester man was ordered held on $1 million cash bail at his arraignment this morning on charges he committed two violent 2004 rapes in Forest Hills and near Franklin Park.

Anwar Thomas pleaded not guilty to 18 charges handed up by a Suffolk County grand jury earlier this month. The charges included aggravated rape and armed robbery. Clerk Magistrate Gary D. Wilson scheduled a preliminary hearing for May 5.

Prosecutors say the crimes went unsolved until Thomas was identified as the culprit through a DNA match. Assistant District Attorney David Deakin said that the DNA evidence was "extraordinarily powerful."

Defense attorney Josh Hanye said, "We know DNA is not foolproof. There is a potential for error and we are going to aggressively search for errors."

Deanna Banyai, originally from Canada, has the wardrobe to get her through her first full winter here in Boston as springtime takes the long way around. Banyai was at the Andrew P. Puopolo Jr. athletic field in Boston's North End with her dog "Dum Dum.''

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

The Massachusetts Legislature, prompted by the disaster at the crippled reactors in Japan, will hold oversight hearings to investigate the safety of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth and Seabrook Nuclear Power Station in Seabrook, N.H., Senate President Therese Murray said today.

Murray, a Plymouth Democrat, said House and Senate lawmakers will invite operators of the two plants to testify April 6 before the Joint Committees on Public Safety and Homeland Security, Public Health, and Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture.

The two plants have extensive safety systems in place "but we want the public to know that," Murray said. "Plus, we want more information from them on what else needs to be done."

By Globe Staff

Journalists at the Boston Globe have won two first-place awards and seven other honors in the National Headliner Awards, one of journalism's most venerable award programs.

Columnist Kevin Cullen won first place in the local interest column category for columns on a variety of subjects, including one on Phoebe Prince, the teenager who committed suicide in South Hadley after being bullied, and one on Scott Milley, an Army Ranger from Sudbury who was killed in Afghanistan.

The team of Bill Greene, Dina Rudick, and Scott LaPierre won first place for online videography. The prizewinning videos included a piece on a program in Maine where war veterans seek to escape their memories by fly fishing, and a piece on a New Hampshire prosthetics team aiding amputees in quake-ravaged Haiti.

The Globe Spotlight Team won second place in the public service category for its investigation uncovering rigged hiring and promotion practices in the state Probation Department. The Globe also won second place in the spot news category for its coverage of the Weston water main break that threw the Boston area into a drinking water crisis for several days last May.

Boston Fire Department

Passengers clambered out of the train, which is visible in the distance, then walked down the tracks and climbed out of the train pit in the Chinatown station with the help of ladders placed by firefighters.

By John M. Guilfoil and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

More than 200 people were evacuated this afternoon from a six-car Orange Line train after a grease fire broke out in a tunnel near the Chinatown station, the Boston Fire Department said.

Firefighters responded at 3:02 p.m. to a report of a fire involving a train just outside the station, said department spokesman Steve MacDonald.

Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Finn said at the scene that grease had accumulated in the track area and when a train passed over it, it sparked a small but very smoky fire 100 feet before the Chinatown station. The fire was extinguished with two carbon dioxide fire extinguishers, he said.

No one was injured as 225 passengers were evacuated, said MacDonald.

Service was shut down between the Tufts Medical Center and Chinatown stations in both directions. Service had resumed by about 4:45 p.m.

Reporter Milton J. Valencia talks about the East Boston woman who is charged with bringing cocaine into Logan International Airport in a diaper-like garment.

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

Six juvenile harbor porpoises have washed up dead on Massachusetts beaches this past week, according to officials at the New England Aquarium.

The most recent one was a 4-foot-long, dark gray harbor porpoise found Saturday morning on Revere Beach. The New England Aquarium’s Marine Animal Rescue Team responded, but the animal was already dead.

Tony LaCasse, spokesman for the New England Aquarium, said this number is “exceptional” for one week but it is not uncommon this time of year for young porpoises to die after being stranded on shore.

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

Third-graders in East Bridgewater and Whitman came home from school with a note last week. Typically, that’s not news. But this note included an invitation to a fundraiser for a freshman state representative, a violation of state ethics rules.

Representative Geoff Diehl, a Whitman Republican, said today he is sorry for sending the note on Thursday, and he now realizes it violated the state law that bars the use of public resources for private campaigns.

“Really, it’s a lesson learned,” he said. “I feel horrible for the ramifications.”

The note invited parents to enter their children in a lottery, with the winners participating in a reading of “The Ride of Paul Revere,” at Diehl’s fundraiser with former New England Patriots player Steve DeOssie, on Patriots’ Day, April 18.

By Beth Daley, Globe Staff

A possible electrical fire involving an elevator broke out this morning at the Seabrook Nuclear Power Station in New Hampshire, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Michael Waldron, a spokesman for NextEra Energy Resources, which owns the plant, said "smoke was detected in an equipment elevator and there was no impact on the station or any employee."

The incident, in a part of the plant that contains radioactive material or equipment dealing with radiation, ended after about 15 minutes, the NRC said.

By Brian R. Ballou and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

WAKEFIELD -- A 72-year-old man allegedly shot his wife to death after an argument this morning at their home, prosecutors said.

David McCall called Wakefield police at 8:15 a.m., reporting a suicide and a murder. When police arrived at the McCall home on Lowell Street, they found McCall's wife, Elaine, 69, suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest, said Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone. She was taken to Melrose-Wakefield Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

"Obviously, when the caller, Mr. McCall, used the words 'murder' and 'suicide,' he was referring to having shot his wife, but apparently didn't make good on the suicide," Leone said at a news conference at the Wakefield police station.

Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

Morla-Ramos at her arraignment today in East Boston District Court.

By Milton J. Valencia and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A 22-year-old woman was ordered held on $250,000 cash bail today at her arraignment in East Boston District Court on cocaine trafficking charges after she allegedly flew into Logan International Airport with more than a kilogram of the drug concealed in what authorities said was a "diaper-like" garment.

Karen Morla-Ramos of East Boston disembarked from a JetBlue flight from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, at about 7:25 a.m. Sunday, State Police said in a statement.

While she was being questioned by US Customs Service and Border Protection officers, officers grew suspicious and decided to conduct a pat-down search. The search revealed a "powdery substance concealed in a diaper-like garment" she was wearing under her outer clothing, State Police said.

She was arrested by the Customs Service officers. Members of a joint State Police-federal task force that investigates drug trafficking at the airport then interviewed her.

By Kathy McCabe, Globe Staff

Lindsay, 39, will succeed R. Judson Carlberg , who will retire as president on June 30 after 19 years at the helm of Gordon, a 1,500-student college located in a rural area off Route 128.

Rick Sweeney, a Gordon spokesman, could not immediately be reached for comment to elaborate on Lindsay's selection. Lindsay was chosen after a seven-month international search conducted by a committee that included Gordon trustees, the college said in a statement.

Lindsay, a sociologist, now directs the Program for the Study of Leadership at Rice, where he is also a scholar at James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy. He is credited with launching a series of "leadership salons," linking national leaders with undergraduates at Rice, according to Gordon's press release.

In the midst of talk about Sunday closings at the central facility of the Boston Public Library in Copley Square, Jillian Ceballos of Worcester wrote a paper for her education class on Sunday afternoon. The proposal is part of a larger effort to keep neighborhood branches open and avoid layoffs.

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.

Boston Fire Department

By Globe Staff

A fire at a three-story apartment building in West Roxbury early this morning caused $100,000 in damage but no one was injured, the Boston Fire Department said.

Firefighters responded to the blaze at 44 Broadlawn Park on the Brookline line at 4:18 a.m. The fire was on the second-floor balcony in an enclosed utility room, which is where the heating system was kept. Firefighters quickly knocked down the blaze, keeping it outside, though several units received smoke damage. Residents were eventually allowed to return to their units, the department said.

Investigators said the cause was careless disposal of smoking material in cardboard boxes on the balcony, which caused a fire that spread to the utility room.

By Globe Staff

State Police say a 39-year-old Salem man was the victim in a fatal crash in the Sumner Tunnel ramp to Storrow Drive last night.

Brian P. Hicks was the lone occupant of a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado that went out of control just before entering the ramp, State Police said in a statement. He was ejected from the vehicle.

Police responded to the scene just before 10 p.m. The tunnel and entrance to Storrow Drive were closed for several hours last night while police investigated.

By Lisa Wangsness, Globe Staff

A onetime top official of the Archdiocese of Boston is blasting the church's oversight of pensions for retired lay church workers, five years after the same official defended the archdiocese's management of clergy pensions against similar criticism.

The unusual development comes shortly after an order of nuns, the Daughters of St. Paul, sued the archdiocese in an effort to extricate the retirement accounts of the nuns' lay workers from archdiocesan control.

Today's critique, by former archdiocesan chancellor David W. Smith, makes public long-simmering tension between Smith and his former employer, the Archdiocese of Boston. Smith said he would meet today with the offices of Secretary of State William Galvin and Attorney General Martha Coakley, asking them to look into the pension funds, and that he would also ask the IRS to investigate.

By Globe Staff

State Police are investigating a single-vehicle highway crash in Methuen that killed a 25-year-old Lawrence man early Saturday morning.

Tristan Palmer of Lawrence was driving on the ramp from Route 213 eastbound to Interstate 495 northbound at about 12:35 a.m. Saturday when his 2007 Saturn Ion crossed the median, went into the woods, and hit a tree, State Police said in a statement.

He was taken to Lawrence General Hospital, then transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he was pronounced dead at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

State Police said results of a preliminary investigation indicated speed was a contributing factor in the crash.

By Aaron Lester, Globe Correspondent

Authorities said one person is dead after a single-car crash tonight inside the Sumner Tunnel.

Police responded to the scene just before 10 p.m., according to State Police Trooper Thomas Kelley. The car was headed toward Storrow Drive when it struck the side of the tunnel.

The tunnel and entrance to Storrow Drive are closed while crews investigate.

No other vehicles were involved, police said.

The victim is still unidentified. No driver’s license was found at the scene, Kelley said.

By Katheleen Conti, Globe Staff

Low levels of radioactive iodine likely resulting from the nuclear accident in Japan have been detected in a sample of rainwater in Massachusetts, state health officials said today.

The amounts of radioiodine are very low concentrations and should have no impact on state drinking water supplies, John Auerbach, commissioner of the Department of Public Health, told reporters.

The rain sample was taken during the past week in Boston as part of regular monitoring of radioactivity on the environment by the US Environmental Protection Agency. No detectable increases in radiation have been discovered in the air, Auerbach said, and there are no expected public health concerns.

"The drinking water supply in Massachusetts is unaffected by this short-term, slight elevation in radiation," he said. "However, we will carefully monitor the drinking water as we exercise an abundance of caution."

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

The Boston metropolitan area grew by just 3.7 percent over the past decade, far more slowly than the nation and most other large urban areas, according to new US Census figures.

Despite striking population gains in the City of Boston, the region's overall population climbed just 161,000 between 2000 and 2010 to 4.5 million. Metro regions in Dallas, Houston, and Atlanta grew by more than 20 percent.

The Boston area, which includes the eastern suburbs and stretches into New Hampshire, remained the 10th largest in the country. The New York metropolitan area has the largest population at 18.9 million, followed by Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and Philadelphia.

By Vivian Ho, Globe correspondent

A 24-year-old man was shot and killed in Dorchester tonight, according to Boston Police.

Police responded to reports of shots fired at 37 Ellington St. at about 7:43 p.m. Upon arrival, officers found the victim suffering from life-threatening injuries, said Deputy Superintendent Darrin Greeley.

The man, whom police are not identifying pending the notification of next of kin, was transported to Boston Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, Greeley said.

Police cordoned off the entire length of Ellington Street, which lies between Blue Hill Avenue and Erie Street, for several hours last night. A man who asked not to be identified was helping a friend move in on the street when he heard a female scream.

David Curran

By Ursula Munn, Globe correspondent

A pickup truck crashed into a house last night in Wareham, seriously injuring one passenger and apparently igniting a fire that demolished the home on Oak Street, police said.

Police who arrived at 5 Oak St. at about 9:30 p.m. found the truck and the house both aflame, according to Officer William Fihlman of the Wareham Police Department.

A police press release said that the impact of the crash moved the house approximately seven feet off its foundation, and may have torn the gas lines loose, causing the fire.

The two female passengers were already outside the vehicle when police arrived, while the driver, a 17-year-old male, remained trapped inside until the fire department extricated him, said Fihlman. He said the driver likely avoided serious injury, and will be summoned on charges including operating under the influence resulting in serious bodily Injury, and negligent operation

One of the female passengers was transported by Medflight to a Boston area hospital with serious injuries, he said. Police did not release the names of the passengers.

By Matt Byrne, Globe Correspondent

Several dozen demonstrators gathered yesterday at Copley Plaza to express gratitude for the international military effort in Libya that they said has already saved an untold number of civilian lives in the conflict between rebels and the forces of Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy.

Demonstrators at a smaller rally in Boston argued against the US involvement in Libya.

 Many of the roughly 50 demonstrators on Copley -- many of Libyan descent -- waved the flag of pre-Khadafy Libya, a striped banner of red, black, and green emblazoned with a crescent and star, and marched around the square calling for Khadafy's immediate ouster.

"The only way for Libyans to be free is for Khadafy to be removed," said Emadeddin Muntasser, an organizer of the informal Boston group "Stand With Libya," which formed after the uprising. "[Khadafy] has thrived on the killing of civilians and the theft of their resources. The actions of the US and others involved have literally saved thousands,"  Muntasser said.

AP Photo

The Pope and Ray Flynn posed together in September 1997.

By L. Finch, Globe Correspondent

Various religious mementos, including a cross and rosary beads blessed by the late Pope John Paul II, and historic letters and jewelry were among the items stolen during a break-in Thursday at the South Boston home of Raymond L. Flynn, the longtime former Boston mayor and an ambassador to the Vatican, police said.

Flynn said tonight that the theft occurred when he and his wife left their Flint Place home at 8:45 that morning to attend a funeral Mass in Dorchester for the mother of former Speaker of the House Thomas M. Finneran.

He said that some time after the couple left, thieves broke in and stole the cross and silver rosary, a family heirloom wedding ring, personal letters and medallions from several world leaders and dignitaries, a laptop computer, a GPS device, and an iPod.

‘‘Just about everything I’ve collected over the past 50 years was stolen,’’ Flynn, 71, said in an interview. ‘‘It’s priceless to us. You can’t put a value on it.’’

David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

And away she goes. A skateboarder took advantage of the expansive spaces today at the Christian Science Center in downtown Boston.

By Globe Staff

Gina Clark, the controversial founder of the defunct Cape Cod charity Touched by Angels, has been indicted by a Barnstable County grand jury on larceny, fraud, and other charges, the attorney general's office said this afternoon.

Clark allegedly stole tens of thousands of dollars from the charity, which was organized to provide financial help to families who had lost loved ones or who were dealing with medical problems, the prosecutors said.

“These families were targeted by this defendant and sought her help after going through truly traumatic circumstances, either losing a family member or dealing with serious medical conditions,” Attorney General Martha Coakley said in a statement. "By promising these victims financial support and then keeping the money for herself, we allege that this defendant stole tens of thousands of dollars from families in need.”

By Scott Allen, Globe Staff

Engineers at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation suspected as early as March 1 that five percent of the overhead lights in the Big Dig tunnels were corroded and dangerous to drivers below, according to internal emails released this afternoon.

But the public was not informed of the safety hazard until March 16, a lapse in communications that has forced the resignation of one top transportation official and has roiled the entire agency.

Governor Deval Patrick today accepted the resignation of Frank Tramontozzi, who had been serving as the state's acting highway administrator. Patrick blamed him for critical lapses in communication that kept the public in the dark for five weeks about a 110-pound light fixture that fell in a Big Dig tunnel.

Internal emails released as part of a Department of Transportation investigation showed that state engineers knew the light problem was "a big deal" that could cost up to $200 million to repair, but Tramontozzi did not tell his boss, Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Mullan until March 8.

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick will embark on a book tour next month that will take him to Washington, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles over an 18-day period and put him on the Today Show and other high-visibility venues, his publisher announced today.

Governor Deval Patrick

Patrick’s spokesman Brendan Ryan said the events are spread out and that the governor will be out of the state for a cumulative total of seven days.

Anyone who owns a radio or television will find it hard to miss Patrick during the tour. It includes appearances on The Daily Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, the Tavis Smiley Show and MSNBC.

Click here to see a complete list of Patrick's appearances.

Globe deputy city editor Mike Bello talks about the case of Christopher Gribble, who was sentenced to life in prison without parole today for the murder of a Mont Vernon, N.H., and the maiming of her daughter.

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

EASTON -- A fast-moving fire this morning tore through a large warehouse that was stocked with commercial and residential furniture and other items.

Related

PHOTO GALLERY

Scenes from the fire in Easton

No one was injured in the three-alarm fire, which was reported at 8:20 a.m. The warehouse, located at 750 Washington St., experienced a partial roof collapse last month due to heavy snowfall. The building's sprinkler system was damaged in that collapse and was not functioning when the fire started this morning.

Easton Fire Chief Tom Stone said the fire was started by a torch, used by workers hired by the moving company to shore up the roof so that some of the inventory could be taken out. Last night, in anticipation of the work, some of the inventory was moved to another warehouse rented by the moving company.

"For several weeks, they've had crews in there trying to do some shoring so that they can get all their stock out of there,'' Stone said this morning, standing in front of the burning warehouse. "Apparently, there was an accidental ignition this morning. There were workers in there doing some cutting with the torch and apparently the torch ignited some of the combustibles that were in the building."

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick today accepted the resignation of Frank Tramontozzi, the state's acting highway administrator, blaming him for critical lapses in communication that kept the public in the dark for five weeks about a 110-pound light fixture that fell in a Big Dig tunnel.

Patrick said that another highway official had also been reprimanded. And the governor said that he has communicated his displeasure over the incident to Secretary of Transportation Jeffrey Mullan.

"The secretary has felt the burn himself, from me, meaning that I've been very clear that I will not accept this again,'' Patrick said.

Mullan and Patrick spoke separately to reporters outside the governor's office. Mullan said there had been a "complete communication breakdown" in his department, and acknowledged that he played a role in that breakdown, but said he would not resign.

He said that Frank DePaola, the assistant general manager for design and construction at the MBTA, had been chosen to replace Tramontozzi.

The Patrick administration said it would release a full report on the communication lapses this afternoon.

Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com.

Here are some quotes from the sentencing today of Christopher Gribble, the 21-year-old man who killed Kimberly Cates and maimed her daughter in a horrific home invasion in a small New Hampshire town in 2009.

"To the murderer in this courtroom, as I've said in the past, this verdict is not justice, but I can only hope that justice will find you soon" -- David Cates, husband of Kimberly Cates and father of Jaimie Cates

"My wife and my daughter, each weighing less than 100 pounds at the time of this savage attack, were defenseless against the bloody onslaught from these gutless murderers." – David Cates

"I can't fathom how depraved a person must be to commit such a heinous murder" – David Cates

"It is nice to be able to finally meet you. You are a lovely little girl. I think it helps everybody in this courtroom, Jaimie, to finally get to meet you and see you. You are a lovely little girl, and I hope you know that this man and the other men involved in this terrible crime can never hurt you again. I hope you understand that and I wish you better days." – Hillsborough County (N.H.) Superior Court Judge Gillian Abramson, addressing Jaimie Cates

"Infinity is not enough jail time for you" – Abramson addressing Gribble

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

NASHUA, N.H. -- Christopher Gribble was sentenced today to life in prison without parole by a judge who said he should serve a sentence of "infinity'' for murdering a Mont Vernon woman and maiming her daughter in their secluded home in 2009.

Christpher Gribble (AP Photo)

Related

• Twitter updates
• Quotes from the sentencing
• in today's globe Jury weighs gruesome ’09 knife slaying
• 3/22/11 Murder suspect not insane, doctor testifies
• 3/17/11 Gribble declares he might kill again, if freed
• 3/16/11 At N.H. trial, stark recounting of attack
• 10/6/09 N.H. prosecutor: Teens picked slaying victim at random

Spader has been convicted of first-degree murder in a separate trial.

Judge Gillian Abramson sentenced Gribble to the mandatory sentence of life without parole for the murder charge, then gave him the maximum sentence for each of the five other crimes the jury found him guilty of, to be served after his life sentence is completed.

“It is my belief that infinity is not enough jail time for you,’’ Abramson told Gribble.

Abramson also took the unusual step of speaking directly to Jaimie Cates, who appeared in the Nashua courtroom, apparently for the first time in any legal proceeding against the men who attacked her and her mother.

"It is nice to be able to finally meet you,'' Abramson said from the bench. "You are a lovely little girl. I hope you know that this man and the other men involved in this terrible crime can never hurt you again. ... I wish you better days."

David Cates, the husband of Kimberly and father of Jaimie, said in a victim impact statement delivered before the sentencing that Gribble was a "worthless coward."

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

Light flurries are expected in parts of the region today with unseasonably cold temperatures forecast through Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Taunton.

“It’s a pretty quiet weather pattern,” said Bill Simpson, a meteorologist for the weather service.

The weather service predicts a chance of light snow this afternoon north of Route 2. Skies will be mostly sunny, with increasing clouds as the day goes on and highs in the mid-30s to lower 40s.

Clear skies are expected tonight, but temperatures are expected to have a winter-like feel -- overnight lows will be in the mid-teens, according to the weather service.

By Globe Staff

An alleged New England organized crime figure who lived the life of a Western rancher while on the run from the law is due in US District Court in Worcester today.

Enrico Ponzo, 42, was among 15 people indicted in 1997 by a federal grand jury investigating organized crime in New England. He has been on the run since 1994, and is the last of 15 defendants in the mob case to be prosecuted.

According to the FBI and the Idaho Statesman newspaper, Ponzo was living under the alias "Jeffrey John Shaw" in the small ranching town of Marsing, Idaho. Neighbors told the Idaho newspaper that “Shaw’’ knew little about ranching, but learned enough over the years to run 12 head of cattle on his 12-acre ranch.

The Idaho newspaper also reported that “Shaw’s’’ long time girlfriend left him in 2010, alleging in court papers that he was an alcoholic who was becoming a threat to her and her two young children.

By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff

The public will foot the bill to defend former House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi against charges that he illegally used his position to benefit himself and his friends, after he convinced a federal judge that he cannot afford to pay for his own attorney.

US District Court Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf ruled that Thomas Kiley and William Cintolo, who have represented DiMasi without being paid for almost two years, are eligible to earn $125 an hour, likely a fraction of their usual rate, but the standard for court-appointed lawyers in federal court.

Kiley, who can bill the government for future work but not overdue bills, would not say today why he waited so long to file the motion for a court appointment.

"I'm not going to talk about payments," said Kiley, who has been representing DiMasi in various state and federal probes since 2008. Kiley has said that he has received no payments since DiMasi was indicted on federal corruption charges in June 2009.

By Jenna Duncan, Globe Correspondent

The US State Department decided today it will grant Afghan activist Malalai Joya a visa for a three-week speaking tour, reversing an earlier decision denying her entry to the country.

Malalai Joya

“We hope the decision to grant a visa to Ms. Joya is a signal that the Obama administration is committed to facilitating, rather than obstructing, the exchange of ideas across international borders,” Carol Rose, the executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, said in a statement.

Kayana Szymczak for The Boston Globe

Denise Cosby delivers a victim impact statement in Middlesex Superior Court after Jason Aquino pleaded guilty to manslaughter, admitting he participated in the murder of Cosby’s son, Justin.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

WOBURN – For the first time since her only son was shot inside a Harvard University dorm, Denise Cosby today spoke directly to one of the men allegedly responsible for ending the life of her youngest child.

Justin Cosby

“Today I sit here and look into the face of what is supposed to be a man,’’ Cosby said in a stern voice. “You are a fool.’’

Cosby directed her cold anger and sharp words towards Jason Aquino, one of three New York City men who came to Cambridge on May 18, 2009, intent on robbing Justin Cosby of marijuana and cash.

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

A photo that includes the Boston skyline has been featured on NASA's "Astronomy Picture of the Day" website.

The photo of the "supermoon" rising on March 19 was taken by Dennis di Cicco, senior editor at Sky & Telescope magazine.

Don Himsel/AP/Pool

Testifying last week, Gribble demonstrated how he held a knife during the horrific attack.

By Maria Cramer and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

NASHUA, N.H. -- Jurors began deliberating today in the case of Christopher Gribble, a young New Hampshire man accused of murdering a woman and grievously wounding her daughter in a 2009 home invasion on a secluded road in a rural town.

Jurors took up the case this afternoon after hearing sharply different views from the prosecution and defense of Gribble, who is claiming he was insane when he killed Kimberly Cates and wounded Jaimie Cates in Mont Vernon, N.H.

"Being a callous, vicious sociopath is a description. It's not insanity under the law or common sense," New Hampshire Assistant Attorney General Peter Hinckley said during his closing argument in Hillsborough County Superior Court.

"It's just more manipulation over there," said Hinckley, who described Gribble, 21, as cunning and selfish.

Bill Greene/Globe Staff

Police conferred at the shooting scene this afternoon.

By Globe Staff

A man is in critical condition after being shot on a Dorchester street this afternoon, police said.

A Boston police spokesman said the man, believed to be in his late teens or early 20s, was shot near the intersection of Whitman and Norfolk streets shortly after 3 p.m. His injuries are believed to be life-threatening.

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

Gov. Deval Patrick met for 45 minutes today with Abigail Johnson, the billionaire president of one of Fidelity's divisions and the daughter of its chairman, to discuss the company's recent decision to move nearly 1,100 jobs out of Massachusetts.

The governor called the exchange "fulsome and candid." He said Johnson had apologized to him for informing him of the move while he was away in England, but said "that decision is made, had been made some time ago, and is not reversible.''

Patrick said he considers Fidelity to be "a Massachusetts icon" and therefore feels some "wounded pride" over the company's decision to move multiple jobs to New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

Fidelity's decision to move the jobs out of state had rankled Patrick and other state officials. The governor said the company had not informed him of its decision early enough to allow him to argue that the jobs should remain in state. He had then sought the meeting with Fidelity.

Johnson ignored shouted questions from reporters as she departed the governor's office and ducked into a nearby elevator.

"It was a very nice meeting,'' she said, as the elevator doors closed.

Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com.

By Globe Staff

Woburn and State Police chased a car from Woburn to Interstate 95 North in Newbury, until they were able to stop the car with a tire-puncturing device, officials said.

Louise Nelson, 49, of Woburn, who had a suspended license, led police on the chase, state police spokesman David Procopio said in a statement.

Around 10 a.m., Woburn police contacted State Police after Nelson, whose Toyota Carolla did not have license plates, allegedly refused to stop and she drove from Woburn onto Route 128 in Woburn. State Police cruisers made two other attempts to stop the vehicle, but were unsuccessful, Procopio said.

Assistant metro editor Roy Greene talks about how reader-generated information helps Globe news coverage.

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick today pointedly declined to offer his support for Jeffrey B. Mullan, the state’s transportation secretary, who has given shifting accounts of why his agency withheld information from the public about a corroded 110-pound light fixture that crashed in the O’Neill Tunnel last month.

Questioned last week about Mullan's five-week delay in telling the public about the falling fixture, Patrick said he had confidence in Mullan and was ready to put the issue to rest. At the time, Mullan had explained that he did not tell the public because he wanted to time to
inspect the other lights in the tunnel and repair any problems.

Bret Silverman

Bret Silverman took a series of photos of the incident. In one, he captured the moment the train appeared to drive over the fire.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

MBTA officials said today it was unclear whether a Green Line train drove over, or merely close to, a small fire on the right-of-way Wednesday night in Brookline, and they emphasized that no one was in danger during the incident, which was captured in a series of photos by a bystander.

photos

Witness Bret Silverman took photos of the fire

The incident happened at about 7 p.m. on the Beacon Street C line tracks between Harvard Avenue and Winchester Street.

Davey acknowledged, "The fire was still close to the tracks, if outside of them." But he emphasized that no riders were endangered in the incident.

"I'm very confident that no one was put in harm's way because of the action," he said.

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

Massachusetts didn't get as much snow as forecasters originally predicted because the storm traveled a bit further south than expected, Bill Simpson, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Taunton, said this morning.

Less than an inch of snow accumulated south of the Massachusetts Turnpike. North of the Turnpike, residents saw no snow or only trace amounts, he said. The highest snow amount recorded was 2.8 inches in Chatham.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

The National Transportation Safety Board says it will investigate the crash of a Boston-bound tour bus in New Hampshire on Monday, checking to see if there are any connections between that accident and recent bus accidents in New York and New Jersey.

The tour bus full of Korean citizens headed from Canada to New Jersey left the roadway, traveled down an embankment, and came to rest on its side. The accident happened at about 8:15 p.m. Monday on Interstate 93 in Littleton, N.H. Numerous people were injured, but none of the injuries was life-threatening.

METHUEN -- Ed Trachtenberg hoists a goblet that could be used for a toast by one of J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" characters. Trachtenberg owns a company called The Dragon's Lair which sells pewter and other products related to Tolkien's fictional world, Middle Earth. He's looking forward to this weekend's "3rd Conference on Middle Earth," which is only the third such conference in 40 years.

Suzanne Kreiter/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 Neal J. Riley, Globe Correspondent

It is becoming increasingly likely that a springtime snowstorm will not result in any accumulation for much of Massachusetts, as earlier predicted, forecasters said tonight.

The Bay State may see flurries over the next three to six hours, but the only chance of accumulation is on the outer Cape and islands where one to three inches of snow is possible, according to Rebecca Gould, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Taunton.

“Pretty much everything about this storm has changed,” Gould said. “It’s been quite a difficult storm to forecast.”

Earlier in the day, a meteorologist in Taunton predicted that Greater Boston would receive one to three inches of snow and Southeastern Massachusetts could get about three inches or more. The Berkshires will also not be seeing the six inches that had been previously predicted because the storm moved farther south than models had forecasted, Gould said.

Temperatures will dip to 29 in Boston overnight and rebound to nearly 40 degrees on Thursday. Snow showers late Thursday afternoon are still a possibility, Gould said, but are also not expected to result in any accumulation.

Sunny skies will return for Friday through the weekend, but temperatures will be cooler than normal with highs between 35 and 40 degrees.

By Robert Gavin, Globe Staff

Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin today barred a Beverly broker from working in the securities business in Massachusetts, charging him with boosting his commissions by excessively trading on the accounts of the widow of a victim of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Brokers earn fees each time they buy or sell securities. Over the course of two years, James Konaxis, 52, of Beverly, racked up $550,000 in commissions even as the value of the widow's accounts fell by more than half, to $1.6 million from $3.7 million, Galvin charged. The accounts were funded with payments from September 11th Victim Compensation Fund created by Congress following the attacks in 2001.

Also today, the federal Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against Konaxis in US District Court in Boston, charging him with violating federal securities laws. The complaint seeks repayment of his "ill-gotten gains"; monetary penalties; and his ban from trading in low-priced securities known as penny stocks.

By Globe Staff

State Police are responding to a serious crash on Route 1 South in Saugus.

Traffic is being diverted off the road at Walnut Street because there are live electrical wires across the road, State Police said.

No further information was immediately available.

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff

A man was killed in an explosion this morning at the Balise Honda dealership in West Springfield, fire officials said.

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff

Police arrested a total of eight people in two groups Monday and Tuesday night for allegedly stealing from several stores in the Natick Collection mall.

2006 Globe File Photo

Robert A. George meets with reporters outside Barnstable Superior Court after Christopher McCowen was convicted for murdering Christa Worthington.

By Milton J. Valencia and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A high-profile Boston defense attorney was charged today by federal authorities with allegedly laundering drug money.

George is one of Boston’s better-known defense attorneys, with a client list that has included organized crime figures and Christopher M. McCowen, who was convicted for murdering fashion writer Christa Worthington in a Truro home.

George appeared in US District Court in Boston this afternoon, where he pleaded not guilty to all charges and was expected to be released on $50,000 unsecured bond. He was arrested at his home this morning.

Globe deputy city editor Mike Bello talks about attorney Robert George, who has been charged with money laundering.

David L. Ryan / Globe Staff

MBTA general manager Richard Davey examines a pre-owned locomotive, which joined the commuter rail fleet today.

By Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff

Dingy-looking but functional, one of the T's new "pre-owned" locomotives backed into North Station for the first time today, where MBTA General Manager Richard A. Davey applied a T decal and officially placed the engine in service, hailing it as needed help for the beleaguered commuter rail.

The locomotive is one of three formerly owned by Maryland's MARC commuter rail that will go into service on MBTA lines over the next two weeks, leased by the T at $300 apiece per day. The T is leasing them from an Idaho locomotive maker that recently built new engines for MARC and is also slated to build 20 for the T, at $115 million.

Although cast off by MARC, the 16-year-old engines are newer than all but two of the MBTA's 82 engines, more than half of which date to the 1970s and nearly all of which are at or past the manufacturer's recommended lifespan of 25 years.

John Tlumacki/Globe Staff/File

Elizabeth Taylor arriving at Pier 4 for the opening-night party in April 1983.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Glamorous, violet-eyed Elizabeth Taylor made a big splash during her rare visits to Boston, including trips with Richard Burton, her on-again, off-again husband, in 1964 and 1983.

Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

Shamil Mohammed, (right) interim director of Food and Nutrition Services, was grilled by Councilor John R. Connolly at a Boston City Council hearing on Tuesday. Listening, left to right: Deputy School Superintendent Michael Goar, Superintendent Carol R. Johnson, and Sam DePina, assistant chief operating officer.

By Globe Staff

Worried that students will go hungry, Boston School Superintendent Carol R. Johnson has sent a letter home to parents telling them food in the city's school cafeterias is safe for their children to eat.

In the letter sent home Tuesday, Johnson wrote that at one school, the number of students choosing to eat a free breakfast dropped by 25 percent in recent days and that "one student refused to eat lunch because she heard it might be dangerous.''

In the letter, which is also posted prominently on the Boston public schools website, the superintendent wrote that "I am writing to personally assure you that the food we serve to your children is safe and healthy.''

She added, “The safety of our food is not in question. … Our highly trained cafeteria managers and kitchen staff care deeply about the food they serve, and monitor what is actually prepared for students. If they find any food that is questionable, they throw it away.’’

Led by Councilor John R. Connolly, the Boston City Council's education committee held a public hearing Tuesday into allegations that Boston public schools cafeterias routinely serve expired food to students.

Pat Greenhouse / Globe Staff

Reporter Brian R. Ballou talks about Lola the dog, who spent a month inside a burned-out house before being reunited with her owner.

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

A Hyde Park woman cried tears of joy this week after finding her dog alive among the ashes of her burned-out and boarded-up house, where the dog had survived since a blaze totaled the residence on Feb. 23.

Terisa Acevedo initially thought that Lola, her year-old long-haired dachshund, escaped the blaze and was wandering through the neighborhood. In the days after the fire, the 24-year-old EMT and Northeastern University student posted fliers on telephone poles and walked the neighborhood hoping to find her dog. But as the days turned into weeks, Acevedo began to think that Lola perished in the fire.

But on Monday Acevedo returned to the house to shut off the alarm on a truck she was keeping parked there, and she heard a scratching noise at the boarded-up front door. She immediately knew it was Lola.

David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

The "Pink Palace," a former restroom, will become a takeout place.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

In a move intended to inject more pizzazz into the Boston Common, city officials announced today that they have chosen a Florida-based sandwich chain to operate the Pink Palace, a long-vacant historic structure originally built as a restroom.

The Pink Palace, a 660-square-foot structure that was named for the color of its masonry, will be leased by the Earl of Sandwich chain, the city announced this afternoon.

“This is a great opportunity to transform a unique unused space into an active business, while contributing to the vitality of the Boston Common,” Boston Parks Commissioner Toni Pollak said in a statement. “This project will allow us to preserve a historic building while also bringing new life to the park for all visitors to enjoy.”

By Globe Staff

Four Lynn men were sentenced to state prison today after they admitted in court they were part of a large group of men who fatally beat a man outside a Boston nightclub in 2009.

Justin Cooke, 27, Jonathan Fernandez, 25, Ruskyn Garcia, 26, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Suffolk Superior Court this week, putting an end to their joint second-degree murder trial, according to Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office.

Cooke, who pleaded guilty today, was sentenced to four years in prison and one year's probation upon his release. Fernandez, who pleaded guilty Friday, was sentenced to three years in prison plus six months in the House of Corrections, suspended for six months upon his release from MCI-Cedar Junction. Garcia, who pleaded guilty Monday, was sentenced to seven-and-a-half to eight years in prison.

Michael Welch, 28, pleaded guilty to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon after prosecutors dropped murder charges against him, Conley’s office said. He received a two-and-a-half-year prison term.

John Gillooly/Suffolk University

Len and Cherylann Gengel stood in front of plans for the orphanage at today's event.

By Jenna Duncan, Globe Correspondent

Len and Cherylann Gengel, parents of a college student killed in the Haiti earthquake last year, spoke to Suffolk University students and staff today about their campaign to open an orphanage in their daughter's memory, saying they expected it would open sometime next year.

Britney Gengel

The mother said the parents felt "so blessed" that their daughter’s last text had left them with that mission, said Greg Gatlin, a university spokesman who attended the event.

The parents announced the orphanage's opening date and shared a video tribute to Britney showing both her family life and her time in Haiti.

“I think they really spoke to Brit’s passion for the people of Haiti, particularly the children,” said Gatlin.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A former Massachusetts lawyer was sentenced today to three years in prison for concealing the money he was receiving from two $1 million winning lottery scratch tickets during bankruptcy proceedings, as well as for filing a false tax return, federal prosecutors said.

James Gregson, 40, of Wakefield bought from the original owner a lottery ticket that paid, after taxes, $35,000 annually. He also bought the right at least 15 more $35,000 payments from a second lottery ticket, the US attorney's office said in a statement.

But he failed to disclose his interest in either during a 2005 bankruptcy proceeding, the prosecutors said. The two tickets were worth at the time of the bankruptcy a total of about $790,000, prosecutors said.

Daigo Fujiwara/Globe Staff

The map shows areas of the state that gained and lost population between 2000 and 2010. To see an interactive map with town-by-town numbers, click here.

By Michael Levenson, Martin Finucane, and Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

The Asian, Hispanic, and black population in Massachusetts increased sharply in the past decade, with the first two groups rising 46 percent, and the latter group 26 percent, according to new US Census figures released today.

Secretary of State William F. Galvin released the figures showing an increasingly diverse state at a State House news conference. He said the white population, by contrast, had decreased by 1.9 percent, though whites still accounted for the overwhelming majority of the state's residents.

Galvin also said the population in Boston, the state's largest city, had increased, growing to 617,594 in 2010 from 589,141 in 2000, a 4.8 percent rise.

By Globe Staff

A 46-year-old Shrewsbury man was killed today when his pickup truck left Interstate 290 East in Northborough and slammed into a tree, State Police said.

Russell Eaton was pronounced dead at the scene after the accident, which happened at about 6:30 a.m., State Police said in a statement. An investigation found that the vehicle, a 2004 GMC pickup, was traveling at a high rate of speed; it also found no signs that Eaton had applied his brakes.

The crash remains under investigation by State Police.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A Stonehill College junior today pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape of a child with force and other charges for allegedly sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl he was tutoring at a Brockton elementary school, officials said.

Brockton police

Kevin Treseler

Treseler is also charged with two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years old and allegedly committed the crimes on a number of days during this year’s semester, according to Cruz’ office.

Treseler’s attorney, Kari D Cincotta, declined comment.

By Globe Staff

Three suspects burst into a Roxbury apartment this morning in an apparent home invasion, terrorizing a couple and their 10-year-old daughter and making off with $1,800 in cash, police said.

Police spokesman Officer Eddy Chrispin said the suspects accosted a man walking into his apartment about 2:45 a.m. at 25 Dimock St., asked him, "Where is it at?" and held a gun to his head.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

City Councilor John R. Connolly issued a scathing critique of the management of food service in the Boston public schools, as he kicked off his hearing today into allegations that school cafeterias routinely served students expired food.
 
Facing Superintendent Carol R. Johnson and other top school officials, Connolly accused the department of having "little or no inventory control," forcing taxpayers to pay to store old food, ordering excess ingredients, and planning menus without adequately looking at its inventory.
 
"What I have learned paints a picture of severe mismanagement," Connolly said in a City Council chamber amid a heavy media presence. "Today, we will focus on how this happened, how expired food and food frozen for over a year made its way to our school cafeterias and was served to our children."

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

Seasonable weather is forecast for today, with a light snow expected for late Wednesday afternoon into Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service in Taunton.

Charlie Foley, a meteorologist for the weather service, said accumulation will be limited, and mostly stick to the grassy areas.

“Snow this time of year, it will be gone the next day,” he said. “Like yesterday, you saw some snow on the ground, but now it’s gone. It’s quick to leave.”

The weather service predicts little to no snow for areas north of the Massachusetts Turnpike, with the greatest potential for snow south of the Turnpike.

Jeannine Boulanger is photographed Monday in her Shrewsbury home holding a picture of her daughter, Nicole, who died in the Pan Am flight 103 bombing Dec. 21, 1988. Boulanger shared her thoughts about Libyan ruler Moammar Khadafy, who claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Yoon Byun / Globe Staff

An artist's rendering of the proposed Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United State Senate.

By Globe Staff

A groundbreaking ceremony has been slated for early next month for the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate in Dorchester.

The ceremony is to be held at the future site of the institute, next to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, a statement from the institute said.

The ceremony is slated for 10:30 a.m. on April 8. Approximately 500 guests are expected to attend, including national, state, and local elected officials.

Sterling Animal Shelter

The puppy in the blue collar is still missing. The one in the foreground has been recovered.

By Jenna Duncan, Globe Correspondent

A second person was arrested today in Worcester in connection with the puzzling theft of puppies last week from a Sterling animal shelter, officials said.

Jose L. Figueroa, 22, of Worcester, was arraigned in Worcester Central District Court on four counts of receiving stolen property valued at more than $250, Worcester district attorney's spokesman Tim Connolly said.

Figueroa's bail was also revoked on a case from last year in which he was charged with intimidating a witness, said Connolly.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A new US Geological Survey study suggests that thousands of Massachusetts private drinking water wells may be producing water with levels of naturally occurring arsenic and uranium that exceed federal public drinking water standards.

State officials said the probability that an individual well poses an immediate health concern is low. But they also suggested that well owners in areas flagged by the study get their water tested and treated, if necessary.

Commissioner John Auerbach of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health said "no immediate public health threat is present, and households do not need to stop using their water. At the same time, the USGS report indicates that it is prudent for private well owners to get their wells tested."

Glen Johnson/Globe Staff

The Pontiac and Acura came to rest yards away from each other. The accident is being investigated by N. Andover police.

By Glen Johnson, Globe Staff

A 47-year-old New Hampshire man was killed in a three-vehicle crash early this morning in North Andover.

Raymond Leclerc of Manchester was killed in the crash, the Essex district attorney's office said. The crash happened at about 5:23 a.m. on Route 114/Route 125 in front of the Merrimack College hockey rink, said North Andover Police Sergeant Gene Salois. The victim was in one of two cars that were involved in the accident, along with a box truck.

The road has been closed so police can investigate, Salois said.

Mt. Washington Avalanche Center

The Mt. Washington Avalanche Center posted this video of one of the avalanches, which was begun by a skier.

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

Four human-triggered avalanches occurred on Mount Washington this Saturday, an unusually high number for one day, said Jeff Lane, a snow ranger for the Mount Washington Avalanche Center.
 
“This is a fairly unique event,” said Lane, who indicated that only six avalanches have occurred on Mount Washington so far this year.
 
No one was injured. The center posted an avalanche advisory that day, including safety tips for skiers and climbers.

Graves Engineering Inc.

Environmental regulators say some of the disks have made a long journey -- from Hooksett, N.H., to Revere Beach.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

State environmental officials say that sewage treatment disks that were mistakenly released from a New Hampshire treatment plant have been found as far south as Revere, on the coast a few miles north of Boston Harbor.

The plastic mesh disks overflowed from the malfunctioning plant in Hooksett, on the Merrimack River, on March 6 after heavy rainstorms, New Hampshire officials have said. The disks began washing up on the banks of the Merrimack and on Massachusetts beaches on March 12.

Hooksett officials estimated that as many as 8 million disks were released, the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs said today in a statement.

By Globe Staff

Four men were arrested today in connection with a criminal ring that was targeting ATM machines, officials said.

The four suspects were among 16 people indicted last week in an alleged "smash and grab" ATM theft operation that targeted banks and businesses in Framingham, Brookline, Franklin, and Fitchburg, among other locations, Attorney General Martha Coakley's office said.

A weather service forecasts map shows little accumulation for most of Eastern Massachusetts, but nearly six inches in the northwest corner of the state.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff, and Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

It's spring in Massachusetts. So, naturally, it's going to snow.

The National Weather Service says precipitation will spread over the region from west to east this morning, and it will be cold enough for the precipitation to begin as a period of snow before it turns to rain.

The snow will quickly change to rain near the coast and no accumulation is expected. But a few inches of accumulation are expected over higher terrain in the interior, with 2 to 4 inches possible over the Berkshires and northern Worcester County.

A weather service map showing predicted snow amounts predicts up to 5.6 inches in northwestern Massachusetts.

This Berkshire Visitors Bureau webcam picture from downtown Adams shows the snow that is spreading over the state this morning. Little accumulation is expected in the eastern part of the state, but the northwestern corner of the state could get nearly 6 inches, unwelcome news after a tough winter.

By Globe Staff

Anthony Shadid, the former Boston Globe correspondent who went missing last week while covering the rebellion in Libya for The New York Times, has been freed by Libyan forces, along with three of his colleagues at the Times, the Associated Press reports this morning.

Shadid was shot in the shoulder while covering the Middle East in 2002 for the Globe.

The other Times staffers who have been freed are Stephen Farrell, a reporter and videographer; and photographers Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario. Hicks is a 1992 graduate of Boston University. Addario did freelance photography work for the Globe in Mexico and other locations in the early 2000s.

Tim Brennan and the Dropkick Murphys were joined by the Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen, for the Murphys' encore at the House of Blues on Friday night.

Matthew J. Lee/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 Taylor S. Gearhart, Globe Correspondent

An early-morning fire in a Haverhill apartment building claimed the life of an 89-year-old woman, authorities said.

The fire, reported to authorities just after 8:00 a.m., was in a large senior housing complex at 100 Water Street.

The victim was removed from her third-floor apartment and brought to Merrimack Valley Hospital.

By Eric Moskowitz and Travis Andersen, Globe Staff, and Christopher J. Girard, Globe Correspondent

Two St. Patrick's Day parades went off peacefully in South Boston -- the traditional one and, about 45 minutes later, an alternate procession billed as the St. Patrick's Day Peace Parade.

By court order, the second set of marchers was required to remain at least one mile behind the first. But police seemed to wait even longer to give the green light to the antiwar and gay rights marchers, sending them off along the three-mile route from the Broadway Station to Andrew Square at about 3:20 p.m., roughly 45 minutes after the departure of the final marchers and the street sweepers, marking the end of the traditional parade.

By then, much of the usual crowd -- annually estimated at 500,000 or more in good weather -- had dispersed, heading to the T or returning to bars and house parties. Where the first procession was met by a throng six-deep, the second parade greeted scattered onlookers.

And it all went off without major incident, after nearly two decades of litigation and public debate over who gets to march through the streets of South Boston on the Sunday closest to St. Patrick's Day.

Police issued 380 civil citations for drinking in public and made 11 arrests for crimes such as assault and battery or disorderly conduct, typical St. Patrick's Day offenses.

By Miriam Valverde, Globe Correspondent

The first full day of spring promises to bring snow and rain in most parts of the state, according to the National Weather Service in Taunton.

“It’s going to begin as snow but then change over to rain,” said meteorologist Neal Strauss. “But there will be little, if any, accumulation in Boston. It will be mostly on car tops or grassy surfaces.”

Strauss said the forecast calls for snow to start falling Monday at about 10 a.m., and then switch to rain around noon or 1 p.m. Residents in the Merrimack Valley will not see the change until 2 or 3 in the afternoon, he said.

Temperatures are predicted to start in the lower 30s Monday morning, warm up to the low 40s in the afternoon, and then drop back into the 30s at night.

Tonight’s lows are expected to be in the 30s in Boston, but about 10 degrees colder in the suburbs, Strauss said. Tonight’s temperature in Central and Western Massachusetts is forecasted to be in the 20s.

Things are expected to look up Tuesday with sunny skies and highs in the mid-40s.

But Wednesday we could back into precipitation, Strauss said.

Temperatures in the high 40s are expected for the weekend, with no rain forecast, according to the weather service.

By Stewart Bishop, Globe Correspondent

A man armed with a machete was fatally shot Saturday night by police officers who were called to his Fitchburg home by the man's girlfriend, according to the office of Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early.

Eric D. Stafford, 21, was shot at his Belmont Street apartment shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday after he advanced agressively toward the officers with the machete, according to a statement from the district attorney's office.

The girlfriend, who was not named by authorities, called police to the apartment about 10 p.m. but when they arrived, police did not encounter Stafford, the statement said.

Police went to the apartment at 15 Belmont St. a second time and encountered Stafford, whom they tried to subdue with Pepperball, or hot pepper. He continued to advance on the officers with the machete, however, and two officers fired at him, the statement said.

By Globe Staff

Edward Kelly, the hard-nosed leader of the Boston firefighters' union, has been elected president of the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts, the state firefighters' union.

Kelly, 37, has been serving since Jan. 21 as interim president of the association, which has 12,000 members statewide. Kelly was elected today by acclimation at a monthly membership meeting in Randolph attended by more than 700 firefighters, the association said in a statement.

"I am honored by the faith the membership has bestowed in me. ... We live in challenging times and I pledge to work with all members to ensure that we keep the citizens of the Commonwealth safe," Kelly said.

By Globe Staff

Salem firefighters are at the scene of a three-alarm fire this afternoon, officials said.

A fire dispatcher said the wind-whipped blaze broke out shortly before 4 p.m. in an occupied building at 98 Washington Square. An hour later, aerial footage shot by local TV stations showed it was still ablaze.

Flames were shooting through the roof of the home and firefighters were checking to see if any people were trapped.

By Sean Teehan, Globe Correspondent

Two Beverly teenagers were ordered held without bail today after their arraignment in Salem District Court on charges that they fatally beat and stabbed a 26-year-old man Thursday night in a Beverly playground.

Sajan Christensen, 18, and Adam Martin, 17, are charged in the slaying of James Vernazzaro.

But Christensen's attorney, Raymond Buso, said, "I fully expect ... that both of the defendants will be exonerated."

Police allege Christensen and Martin beat and stabbed Vernazzaro at Balch Park in Beverly at about 9:20 p.m. Thursday. Police found the victim lying unconscious at the park, with stab wounds to his lower back and upper chest area, Essex County Assistant District Attorney Matthew Hemond said during the arraignment. Witnesses told police Vernazzaro was also hit with a bat, a Beverly police report filed in court said.

Vernazzaro was taken to Beverly Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries at about 9:50 p.m.

By Jenna Duncan, Globe Correspondent

A 43-year-old Randolph man was arraigned today in Quincy District Court for allegedly impersonating a police officer Thursday in Randolph, officials said.

Poorandeo Singh pleaded not guilty to numerous charges, including reckless operation of a motor vehicle, impersonating police, operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, failure to stop for police, and possessing an open container of alcohol, said David Traub, a spokesman for Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey.

When Singh was pulled over by officials Thursday on North Street, they found he had items consistent with impersonating police, including lights installed in his car that mimicked those in emergency vehicles, prosecutors said.

By Stephanie Ebbert and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A smoky fire erupted shortly before noon today when wires running along the bottom of the Gilmore Bridge in Cambridge broke off and came in contact with debris and old railroad ties, the Boston fire department said.

The blaze sent clouds of thick, ominous black smoke billowing onto Interstate 93, the major artery from the north into Boston, which runs above the bridge.

"The wire carrying electricity broke away, fell 60 feet, and landed in a pile of debris including old railroad ties at 11:42 a.m., causing smoke to go 100 feet in the air,'' said Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald.

MacDonald said Boston and Cambridge firefighters worked together to put out the blaze in about 15 minutes.

Commuter rail service to points north of Boston was disrupted for 45 minutes because fire hoses were laid across the tracks, which run below the bridge.

MacDonald said the bridge had black soot marks and state officials will assess whether there was any damage to the structure. The bridge reopened to traffic at 2:30 p.m.

By Sean Murphy, Globe Staff

The owner of the California company that Massachusetts officials have named as the maker of potentially defective overhead light fixtures in Big Dig tunnels issued a statement this afternoon denying that they provided tunnel lights for the Big Dig at all.

State transportation officials have said they may seek damages from NuArt for the corrosion of hundreds of light fixtures, including a 110-pound fixture that crashed to the roadway inside the Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill Jr. tunnel last month.

But National Signal Corporation, parent company of NuArt Lighting, said in the statement that it "has not been involved in any aspect of the Massachusetts Central Artery Tunnel Projects," as the Big Dig is officially known. The statement said that National Signal was only formed in 2006, acquiring NuArt in the process. A company spokesman declined to say whether NuArt provided the lighting for the Big Dig when it was under different ownership.

State officials responded that they are certain the Big Dig lights came from NuArt. "The lights were purchased from NuArt," said Joseph Landolfi, assistant secretary of transportation. The first Big Dig tunnel opened in the mid-1990s.

"While we have yet to receive any correspondence from NuArt or NSC it does not in any way change our approach to the review of the tunnel light corrosion issue. We will continue our review and aggressively pursue all remedies available."

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick, back in Massachusetts after a two-week international trade mission, said today he will meet with Fidelity executives about their decision to ship 1,100 jobs out of state and wants them to declare “to my face” that the move is final.

Patrick expressed mounting frustration with the executives, who he said had planned to join him on the final leg of his trade mission in England but backed out “at the last minute” on Friday.

He said he didn’t want to “scold” Fidelity executives but said he has long struggled with his relationship with the Boston-based financial services giant.

“There’s a conversation we’re going to have to have, that I have been trying to have with Fidelity since the first few weeks that I have been in this job, and it has do with communication,” the governor said. “I can’t compete if I don’t know that something is amiss.”

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

In a move aimed at keeping the man who calls himself Clark Rockefeller under closer scrutiny in the wake of a new murder charge against him, state officials on Thursday moved the convicted kidnapper to a higher-security prison.

Christian K. Gerhartsreiter

By John R. Ellement and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

WOBURN -- Two of the three men charged with first-degree murder in the 2009 slaying of a Cambridge man at a Harvard dorm will plead guilty to reduced charges and cooperate with prosecutors in the case against the third defendant.

Blayn Jiggetts and Jason Aquino have reached the agreement with Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr.’s office, freeing prosecutors to direct their full attention on Jabrai Jordan Copney who allegedly shot Justin D. Cosby inside Kirkland Hall on May 18, 2009. All three men are from New York City.

Aquino’s attorney, Matthew A. Kamholtz, said today that his client will be in the Woburn courthouse next Thursday to formally acknowledge his role in the death of Cosby. “There will be a change of plea to manslaughter,’’ Kamholtz said of Aquino. He declined further comment.

Newton Police

Newton police released this picture today of the suspect firing the gun into the store.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

The moments after a man shot into a Newton jewelry store on Thursday were full of anxiety and uncertainty as a frantic caller reported that someone fired "bullets all over the place," according to a dramatic 911 recording released today by the Newton police.

Listen to the 911 call:

A man believed to be wearing a dark, collared jacket and a hooded sweatshirt with jeans fired a gun into Cristofori Jewelers at 291 Watertown St. just before 4:30 p.m. Thursday, police have said. Three employees were inside the store at the time. At least eight shots were fired.

No one was seriously injured, police later learned, but that wasn't clear when the emergency call came in.

In the call, a man reports the shooting. "We just had bullets fired!" the man said, saying someone in the store may have suffered "a potential hit."

Sterling Animal Shelter

Some of the puppies that were stolen

By Jenna Duncan, Globe Staff

Six of the nine puppies stolen from Sterling Animal Shelter overnight Wednesday, in a mystery that had baffled police, have been returned, the shelter’s executive director, Leigh Grady, said today.

Four puppies were recovered last night after police, acting on a tip, went to an apartment complex in Worcester, where they found three in one apartment and one at a neighbor’s apartment.

Sterling Police Chief Gary Chamberland said an arrest was made in Worcester in connection with the events, though he did not know any further details. A Worcester police spokesman didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

This morning a man returned a dog directly to the shelter after claiming he found it near some train tracks. Grady said the return seemed suspicious to her, because her staff thought they recognized the man as someone who had been at the shelter the day before the puppies went missing.

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

The elderly driver whose car was hit Thursday by a Boston-bound commuter train at a crossing in Avon has died, officials said.

The driver, Ann Kireilis, 91, of Brockton was taken to Brockton Hospital after the accident at the East High Street crossing at about 11:45 a.m. Thursday. A hospital spokeswoman confirmed today that she had died.

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

Warmth that could reach record levels and gusty wind are in the forecast for Massachusetts today, the National Weather Service says.

Highs today are expected to be in the mid- to high 60s, with Boston, areas northwest of Boston, and southeastern parts of the state potentially rising to 70. The record high for today in Boston is 70.

At the same time, a wind advisory has been issued, effective 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with wind gusts of up to 45 miles per hour predicted.

By Globe Staff

Anthony Shadid, the former Boston Globe correspondent who went missing earlier this week while covering the rebellion in Libya for The New York Times, will be freed, along with three of his colleagues at theTimes, the newspaper reported today.

Shadid and the three other journalists have been missing since Tuesday. But Colonel Moammar Khadafy's son, Seif al-Islam Khadafy, told Christiane Amanpour in an ABC-TV interview that at least one of them would be freed.

“They entered the country illegally and when the army, when they liberated the city of Ajdabiya from the terrorists and they found her, they arrest her because you know, foreigners in this place. But then they were happy because they found out she is American, not European. And thanks to that she will be free tomorrow.,” Khadafy told Amanpour, in an apparent reference to Lynsey Addario, one of the other journalists who were captured.

But the Times reports that Libyan government officials have told the State Department that all four would be released.

By Globe Staff

State Police advised people to avoid Interstate 290 East in Northborough this morning after it was closed for investigation of a three-car crash.

The occupants of the cars suffered minor injuries in the 7:15 a.m crash. One car caught fire.

Several lanes have since been reopened, according to the Globe's traffic information service.

By Globe Staff

Boston police homicide detectives are investigating after a body was found in an alley this morning in the Symphony Hall area.

Police say the body of a male was found at 333 Massachusetts Ave.

No further information was immediately available.

Sterling Animal Shelter

Two of the puppies that were stolen from the shelter.

By Jenna Duncan, Globe Correspondent

A real-life Cruella de Vil nabbed nine puppies from Sterling Animal Shelter Wednesday night, and police are searching for clues in the puzzling crime.

Leigh Grady, the shelter's executive director, said that when she arrived at work this morning the side door was kicked in and nine puppies were missing, ranging in age from 10 to 14 weeks.

“This morning when I came into the kennel, it was pretty quiet, like they knew something was going on and they were traumatized,” she said.

By Eric Moskowitz and Sean P. Murphy, Globe Staff

The state’s top transportation official acknowledged today that he erred in waiting five weeks to tell the public — and the governor — about the 110-pound light fixture that crashed from the ceiling of the Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill Jr. Tunnel on Feb. 8.

Responding to criticism from lawmakers and other officials, Secretary of Transportation Jeffrey B. Mullan said he should have consulted with the governor’s office and gone public earlier. Instead, the Department of Transportation did not inform Governor Deval Patrick until Tuesday, after inspectors had already discovered corrosion affecting a few hundred of the 23,000 lights that illuminate the O’Neill and other Big Dig tunnels.

With Patrick away on an international trade mission, Mullan told the governor’s staff in a State House meeting last Friday about the corrosion problem and the temporary repairs made by his department. He said he briefed the governor by phone in London Tuesday night, telling Patrick he planned to hold a press conference the next day.

“Knowing what I know now, with the benefit of hindsight, I made an error. And I should have released this information sooner, even without the benefit of perfect information — that’s the difficult balancing test that public officials need to make,” Mullan said in an interview today. “That won’t happen again.”

Mullan said he prides himself on transparency and wanted to avoid creating unnecessary panic, not conceal a problem. But he now recognizes that, with the Big Dig in particular, the public should know about problems immediately, given a troubled history that includes a fatal tunnel ceiling collapse in 2006.

By Neal J. Riley, Globe Correspondent

Newton police are searching tonight for an “armed and dangerous” suspect who fired multiple shots into the back door of a closed jewelry store today, Lieutenant Bruce Apotheker said.

The suspect, believed to be a man wearing a dark, collared jacket, and a hooded sweatshirt with jeans, fired at least eight shots with a silver handgun into a glass door at Cristofori Jewelers on Watertown Street just before 4:30 p.m., Apotheker said. Three employees were inside the store at the time, and the two visible to the gunman were not hurt, according to Apotheker.

State Police said in a statement that they were providing a helicopter, and marine and K-9 units to assist in the search for the suspect.

Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff

Members of South Boston High School's Junior ROTC program took part in Evacuation Day ceremonies today at South Boston's Dorchester Heights.

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

A long-lost letter written by a hero of the American Revolution was the centerpiece of a ceremony today commemorating Evacuation Day, the day British troops left Boston.

Secretary of State William F. Galvin presented a replica of the letter to the Evacuation Day Heritage Committee, in a ceremony at Dorchester Heights attended by a crowd of elected officials, veterans, and children.

The letter was written in May 1775 by Dr. Joseph Warren, who was president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. It detailed the colonials' takeover of the British-held Fort Ticonderoga and other forts around Lake Champlain.

Boston Globe reporters Peter Schworm and Billy Baker talk about the changes this year in the Evacuation Day holiday and the St. Patrick's Day parade in South Boston.

Robert E. Klein for The Boston Globe

The car sustained heavy damage after being hit by the train.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A Boston-bound commuter train ran into a car that was on the tracks in Avon this morning, injuring the car's elderly driver, the MBTA said.

The crash happened at the East High Street crossing at about 11:45 a.m., said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo.

It was unclear why the car was on the tracks. The warning gates were in the down position, Pesaturo said in a statement.

He said the driver, Ann Kireilis, 91, of Brockton, was "conscious and alert" when transported to Brockton Hospital. A hospital spokeswoman said Kireilis was in stable condition this afternoon.

By Globe Staff

State Police are looking for a 47-year-old Boston man who drove a stolen car at a police officer in Weymouth while leaving the scene of a burglary and then struck a state trooper in Dorchester, authorities said.

Leon Hatfield, a heavy-set white man with a cut on his cheek, is wanted in connection with the incidents, according to a State Police press release.

George Rizer for The Boston Globe

BROCKTON -- Brockton firefighters and State Police investigators are on the scene of a two-alarm fire that killed a woman early today.

By Milton J. Valencia and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

BROCKTON – The woman who was fatally injured in a fire this morning – despite a frantic rescue effort by Brockton firefighters -- was described by neighbors and officials as a pleasant woman employed as a food service worker at Brockton High School.

The woman was identified by Brockton officials as Darlene Blanchard, 41, who was the mother of a 14-year-old boy and an adult child, neither of whom were in the Northfield Street home when a fire broke out in the kitchen around 2 a.m. today.

Blanchard had worked for the past 18 months in the high school cafeteria helping to prepare breakfast and lunch for the school and other Brockton facilities, said Jocelyn Meek, spokeswoman for the Brockton schools.

Caitlin Churchill

After she reached higher ground and was safe from the deadly tsunami, Caitlin Churchill took this photo of the junior high school in Minamisanriku where she was teaching English that day.

By Jenna Duncan, Globe Correspondent

A 22-year-old Acton resident has left the Japanese town where she narrowly escaped the tsunami to travel to a nearby city, where she hopes to find better shelter, her anxious mother says.

Caitlin Churchill, who was in Japan to teach English, was able to outrun the waves that swept up some of her students and co-workers and killed her supervisor, in the village of Minamisanriku, said her mother, Sharon Cassidy. Minamisanriku was perhaps the hardest-hit town in Japan, with as many as 10,000 people swallowed by the sea.

Churchill earlier this week told the dramatic story of her escape to an Associated Press correspondent who was on the ground in Japan.

Churchill spent the night in the forest after escaping the massive wave, her mother said Wednesday. Since then, Churchill has been staying at a shelter where there is no heat, no electricity, and limited food and blankets. So Churchill and two other English teachers have decided to try to travel to the nearby city of Sendai, hoping for better shelter.

Cassidy spent some tense days after the tsunami hit. Minamisanriku has made headlines, with networks broadcasting video showing the giant wave destroying the town. But through NBC-TV's Today Show, Cassidy was able to reestablish contact with Caitlin via an NBC satellite phone at about 3 a.m. Monday.

Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff

A squad of Lexington Minutemen fired off a salute during Evacuation Day ceremonies today at Dorchester Heights in South Boston.

By Globe Staff

If you're driving through Scituate today, don't be surprised if you see plenty of green.

With 47.5 percent of residents claiming Irish roots, Scituate is the most Irish town in a state where nearly a quarter of residents have Irish ancestors, according to newly released Census data.

The Irish have been by far the largest, and most defining, immigrant group in the state. Tens of thousands of the Irish crossed the ocean in the mid-19th century to escape famine. Many moved south of Boston, settling in coastal suburbs that became known as the Irish Riviera.

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

It looks like Boston will be blessed with the luck of the Irish, meteorologically speaking, as unseasonably warm weather moves in for both today and Friday, National Weather Service forecasters said.

Skies today will be mostly sunny, with highs in the 50s and in the 60s for Boston and southeast Massachusetts. On the Cape and islands, it will be slightly cooler, with highs around 50.

Lows tonight will drop into the low 40s, and skies will become increasingly cloudy. After midnight, there is the potential for rain north of the Massachusetts Turnpike. Frank Nocera, a weather service meteorologist, said temperatures are expected to rise early Friday morning as a warm southwest wind moves into the region.

Les Gosule, the father of murder victim Melissa Gosule, spoke Wednesday during a State House hearing on "Melissa's Bill," which would toughen the rules for prison parole. Gosule was murdered in 1999 by a parolee with a long prison record.

Jonathan Wiggs / Globe Staff

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick, who has been traveling for nearly two weeks on an international trade mission intended to create jobs, said he was blindsided by Fidelity’s decision to ship more than 1,000 jobs out of Massachusetts, but said there is nothing he can do to stop it.

In a brief telephone call from England, the governor said he had recently met in his office with Abigail Johnson, the billionaire president of one of Fidelity’s divisions and the daughter of its chief executive, who is part of a group of business executives who advise Patrick. The governor said his aides are also in regular contact with the company’s senior executives, none of whom ever told him they were planning to move jobs out of the firm’s Marlborough campus, to offices just over the border in Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

He said he found out about the decision on Monday, when the company’s government affairs official called the State House and spoke to his chief of staff, Mo Cowan. Cowan then called the governor in London and informed him of the move, which the company made public a day later, on Tuesday.

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff

(John M. Guilfoil / Globe Staff)

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff

A Boston police cruiser crashed on Warren Street in Roxbury moments ago, police said.

The cruiser may have been responding to a call for an intruder in a home, police said, when it crashed at about 6:40 p.m. A second vehicle involved in the crash rolled over.

Police have closed Warren Street to traffic.

No further information was immediately available.

By Jenna Duncan, Globe Correspondent

A Weymouth native who moved to Japan 20 years ago is back in Massachusetts today because of fears about spreading radiation from the failures at the country's earthquake- and tsunami-battered nuclear plants.

John McGlynn

McGlynn along with his wife, Chika, a native of Japan, and their two children, Emily, 12, and Sean, 3, landed at Logan International Airport this afternoon. They got on the plane after a long night of packing to bring as much as they could from their Tokyo home.

Though their home was not damaged, the couple quickly grew concerned about radiation from the nuclear plants as problems worsened at the reactors.

By Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff

A 110-pound light fixture fell from the ceiling of a Big Dig tunnel in early February, prompting state officials to launch an inspection that has found corrosion at the base of some of the clips that affix other light fixtures to the tunnels.

"We learned that this is a relatively isolated incident, but it's something that we're taking very seriously,'' State Transportation Secretary Jeffrey B. Mullan told reporters at a briefing this afternoon.

"There is no question in my mind that the tunnels are robust and safe for the traveling public,'' Mullan said. "We've done an individual inspection of each of the lighting fixtures that is over the travelway, and we know that they are secured adequately and that the tunnel is safe."

The fixture that fell in the northbound O'Neill tunnel crashed to the ground between two travel lanes on the morning of Feb. 8. No one was injured.

"What we initially did was we tried to get an idea of what was happening, and when we thought we had enough information to inform the public of the situation, we're disclosing the information,'' he said. "I wanted to have a better idea of what exactly we were dealing with -- whether or not this was an isolated situation or more of a systemic issue.''

By Shelley Murphy and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

The man who called himself "Clark Rockefeller" insisted today that he had no role in the 1985 death of John Sohus in California and is determined to fight the murder charge filed against him in a Los Angeles courthouse, his attorneys said today.

Essdras Suarez/Globe Staff/Pool

Christian K. Gerhartsreiter

Gerhartsreiter’s Boston attorneys, Jeffrey Denner and Brad Bailey, met today with their client in the medium-security state prison in Gardner where Gerhartsreiter is serving a four-to-five-year sentence for kidnapping his daughter during a custody dispute.

“He is anxious because this clearly changes his life,’’ Denner said of his client, who becomes eligible for parole in mid-2012. “He is anxious to get this resolved and to clear his name."

Reporter Shelley Murphy talks about Christian K. Gerhartsreiter, the man who called himself Clark Rockefeller, who is now facing a murder charge in California.

Office of the Governor

Governor Deval Patrick reads a newspaper today in London.

By Glen Johnson, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick is in England, not Italy, yet there is an aura of Rome-burning-while-Nero-is-fiddling to his trade mission events and communications after Fidelity Investments announced Tuesday it's closing its Marlborough offices — and costing Massachusetts over 1,000 jobs in the process.

The first week of Patrick's international trade mission produced no job deals, despite him touring Israel with such heavyweights as New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

Since the weekend, the immediate benefits of the trip have become even more imperceptible, as the governor has visited a World War II cemetery, taken a tourist's trip to the House of Commons for "question time," and held a series of meet-and-greet meetings with members of Parliament.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Urging residents to celebrate with moderation, city officials announced today that they were asking South Boston liquor stores to cut another hour off the time they will be open on the day of the big St. Patrick's Day parade in that neighborhood.

Officials said they were asking the stores to close their doors at 4 p.m. For the past four years, the stores were asked to close their doors at 5 p.m. The normal Sunday night closing time is 6 p.m., said Patricia Malone, director of the Mayor's Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing.

Bars in the area are also being asked to stop accepting new patrons at 6:30 p.m., stop serving at 7 p.m., and send all patrons home by 7:30 p.m., as they have been for the past four years, Malone said.

"We're suggesting and we're hoping that they'll cooperate with us," said Malone. "We're asking them to partner with the city and saying it would be greatly appreciated." She said the city has always gotten the businesses' cooperation.

By Globe Staff

A man was shot twice in the back on a street in Boston's Mission Hill section this afternoon.

A police spokesman said the victim was shot at 3:12 p.m. outside at 94 St. Alphonsus St.

He was rushed to Brigham and Woman's Hospital, where his condition is not known.

Police issued an alert for a suspect described as a man with a thin build, 20-25 years old, who was seen fleeing the area in a dark gray BMW.

By Globe Staff

Anthony Shadid, a New York Times foreign correspondent who was shot in the shoulder while covering the Middle East in 2002 for The Boston Globe, has gone missing in strife-torn Libya, along with three of his colleagues, the Times reports this afternoon on its website.

The last time the four were in contact with editors was Tuesday morning, the Times's Media Decoder blog reported.

"We have talked with officials of the Libyan government in Tripoli, and they tell us they are attempting to ascertain the whereabouts of our journalists," the paper's executive editor Bill Keller said. "We are grateful to the Libyan government for their assurance that if our journalists were captured they would be released promptly and unharmed."

Don Himsel/AP/Pool

Testifying Tuesday, Gribble demonstrated his grip on a knife during the horrific attack.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

During a combative cross-examination, a New Hampshire prosecutor today forced Christopher Gribble, who has admitted killing a Mont Vernon woman and maiming her daughter, to state that he could kill again if he is not kept behind bars.

Gribble has admitted killing Kimberly L. Cates and repeatedly stabbing Jaimie Cates, who was then 11 years old, after he and three other men broke into the secluded Cates home. He is asking a Hillsborough Superior Court jury to rule he was insane at the time of the Oct. 4, 2009, attack.

Assistant New Hampshire Attorney General Jeffery A. Strelzin cross-examined the 21-year-old Gribble, who had spent the last two days on the witness stand describing the vicious attacks, his chronic depression, and his desire to kill his mother, whom he says he hates.

Strelzin noted that Gribble wrote to a friend saying he hoped to be freed in five or six years and that he then expects to spend his time partying.

“The other thing you might do when you get out is kill again,’’ Strelzin said to Gribble.

“It’s always possible,’’ Gribble answered calmly.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A man on a flight from Detroit heading to Logan International Airport today was allegedly overheard telling another passenger that he was a federal air marshal.

He wasn't. And, unfortunately for him, there was a real one on the plane, who detained him, authorities said today.

The incident happened on Delta Flight 1922, which landed safely at 11:35 a.m., the Transportation Security Administration said.

"The individual is in law enforcement custody and the matter is currently under investigation," the TSA said in a statement.

By Globe Staff

Police have charged a Nantucket woman with the death on Monday of her 3-year-old daughter.

Dora Alicia Tejada Pleitez, 26, of Pine Tree Road, was arraigned Tuesday in Nantucket District Court on a charge of first-degree murder and was ordered held without bail pending a competency hearing. She is scheduled to return to court Monday.

Tejada Pleitez is responsible for the death of her daughter, Nicole Garcia, according to the Cape & Islands district attorney's office.

By Globe Staff

The former director of the Revere public library has been indicted on charges that he embezzled at least $200,000 from the city to buy items he kept for himself or that he resold for profit on eBay and other venues.

Robert E. Rice Jr. is due to be arraigned April 1 in Suffolk Superior Court on 21 counts, including three counts of embezzlement by a city officer, and 15 counts of procurement fraud, according to Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office.

By Globe Staff

Good news for riders on the MBTA's Green Line.

Starting next Monday, the T is beefing up the number of three-car trains during the week.

General Manager Richard A. Davey Jr. says the number of three-car trips will increase from 13 to 32 trips each weekday.

Davey says the increased service is aimed at allowing more capacity for new riders and making commuting more comfortable for existing riders.

Deborah Trickett of Milton works on her captured garden container display Tuesday as exhibitors set up for the 2011 Boston Flower and Garden show at the Seaport World Trade Center. The show opens today and runs through Sunday.

By Glen Johnson, Globe Staff

The process to redraw the state's legislative and congressional districts reaches the public arena today, when the Special Joint Committee on Redistricting holds its first meeting.

Senator Stanley C. Rosenberg of Amherst and Representative Michael J. Moran of Boston, the committee co-chairmen, will preside over the panel's first organizational meeting at 1 p.m.

The session will take place in Gardner Auditorium at the State House.

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

Rain showers are forecast for today, but Massachusetts residents should not expect the precipitation to lead to any serious flooding, according to the National Weather Service in Taunton.

“It’s pretty quick-hitting, so it will taper off during the evening commute,” Bill Simpson, a meteorologist for the weather service, said today.

The weather service forecasts that the rain will move into the region late this morning from west to east. Highs today will be in the 40s, and in the 50s along the southern coast of the state.

Skies will clear tonight, with lows in the 30s along the coast and in the mid-20s inland.

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff

Year after year, the winter wonderlands fade to sunshine and flowers. But the melting snow leaves other things behind on city streets: dirt, mud, trash, and potholes.

After the massive winter Boston just endured, the amount of muck left behind is just too much to sweep under the rug this year. So Mayor Thomas M. Menino has decided to launch his own version of spring cleaning, dispatching “Clean Teams” to various neighborhoods, targeting areas for a deeper scrubbing than normal.

“We are getting a jump on the cleanup, bringing all hands on deck to make sure our roads are safe and our neighborhoods are clean,” Menino said in an interview today. “Winter may be ending, but the cleanup work is just beginning.”

The mayor’s Clean Teams will walk through every neighborhood, joining officials from Public Works, the Parks Department, Boston Main Streets, and the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services to coordinate customized cleanup strategies for each business district and neighborhood.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Tito Jackson won a resounding victory today in a special election for the Boston City Council, ushering in a new era for a district plagued by political scandals in the heart of Boston's black community.

Jackson will take the seat held for more than a decade by Chuck Turner, the dedicated but combative community organizer convicted of accepting a $1,000 bribe and thrown out of office in December. Turner is due to report to federal prison on March 25 -- the first day Jackson will be eligible to take the oath of office.

The 35-year-old political operative captured 82 percent of the vote and easily defeated Cornell Mills for the seat representing District 7, which includes Roxbury, Lower Roxbury, and parts of the Fenway, the South End, and Dorchester. Jackson, an unfailing optimist who bought his childhood home on Schuyler Street from his parents, addressed a cheering crowd of supporters last night at Biff's Lounge in Grove Hall.

"I'm just feeling really glad that people are buying into our vision of economic development and jobs and how to rejuvenate our community and are looking forward, not backward," Jackson said tonight. "There's no question that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, but this is a time for moving forward."

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff

An Alabama grand jury has formally indicted Amy Bishop on capital murder and attempted murder charges stemming from the February 2010 University of Alabama Huntsville shootings.

The Huntsville Times reported online today that Madison County District Attorney Rob Broussard said the indictments came down last week.

Bishop was indicted on charges she killed three fellow professors: Maria Ragland Davis, Adriel Johnson, and department chairman Gopi Podila during a Feb. 12, 2010 faculty meeting in which Bishop was denied tenure at the university as a biology professor. She is also accused of shooting and wounding three other faculty members.

Ted Fitzgerald/Pool Photo/2010

Christian K. Gerhartsreiter at a court hearing last May

By Maria Cramer and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

The man who called himself "Clark Rockefeller," whose case drew national attention when his mysterious past was exposed during a parental child abduction case in Massachusetts, is now facing charges in a 1985 murder in California, Los Angeles County prosecutors said today.

Christian K. Gerhartsreiter, 50, a German national, has been charged with the murder of John Sohus, 27, of San Marino, Calif., prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said in a statement they had filed a felony complaint in Alhambra Superior Court seeking the con man's arrest and extradition from Massachusetts, where he is currently serving a four-to-five-year sentence for kidnapping his daughter during a custody dispute.

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

It’s become a hot spot for politicians hawking books.

Governor Deval Patrick

On April 12, the day his memoir is released, Patrick will be a guest on “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart, according to the show’s staff.

His star turn on the popular Comedy Central program is expected to be just one of several national television appearances he makes to promote his memoir, “A Reason to Believe: Lessons from an Improbable Life.”

His publisher, Broadway Books, has already confirmed that the governor has agreed to several speaking engagements to promote his work, including appearances at the National Press Club in Washington and the Harold Washington Library in Chicago.

Here is the text of the statement issued today by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office on the murder case being brought against Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, the man who called himself "Clark Rockefeller."

LOS ANGELES – A con man who crisscrossed the country under assumed identities, including posing as a Rockefeller, was charged today with the 1985 murder of a San Marino man whose body was discovered a decade after he disappeared.

Christian K. Gerhartsreiter, 50, a German national better known as Clark Rockefeller, was charged with the February, 1985 murder of John Sohus.

Deputy District Attorney Habib A. Balian with the Major Crimes Division filed a felony complaint this morning in Alhambra Superior Court seeking the defendant’s arrest and extradition from Massachusetts, where he is serving a prison sentence for kidnapping. The case no. is GA078321.

By Jenna Duncan, Globe Correspondent

Three men were sentenced today in Suffolk Superior Court to prison for the fatal beating of Jose “Danny” Alicea outside a South End club in 2009, prosecutors said.

Daniel Ek, 24, and Johan Garcia, 30, both of Lynn, and Anthony Villalobos, 23 of Revere, were all convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Ek, Garcia, and Villalobos are among 13 men charged in the Aug. 21, 2009 incident outside the 33 Restaurant and Lounge on Stanhope Street, where Alicea and three of his friends were attacked, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley's office said in a statement.

Ek was sentenced to five to six years for Alicea’s death and an additional one to two years for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on another victim, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley's office. Garcia was sentenced to four and a half to five and a half years for the death and an additional year for attacking another victim. Villalobos is slated to serve four to five years for Alicea’s death, and six more months for another attack.

Jack Murray

Governor Deval Patrick strolls through the Cambridge American Cemetery in Madingley, England, today during a break in his international trade mission.

By Glen Johnson, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick took a break from his international trade mission meetings today to visit the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial in Madingley, England, and pay his respects to fallen US military members from World War II.

A statement issued by his office said Patrick laid a wreath in honor of those members from Massachusetts. He also presented the cemetery with a Massachusetts flag previously flown over the State House in honor of the state’s service members who are buried in the cemetery, or listed as missing.

In addition, Patrick placed flowers on the grave of Technical Sergeant Chester W Yurick, of Needham. He served as radio operator on a B-24 Liberator from the 44th Bomb Group based at Shipdham in Norfolk, England.

Yurkick and his crew died following a crash landing after their aircraft was damaged by German defenses.

The Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial site was donated by the University of Cambridge and occupies about 30 acres. It contains the remains of 3,812 American military dead, including 360 from Massachusetts, with another 5,127 names recorded on the Tablets of the Missing.

Jim Cole / Associated Press

Christopher Gribble after his arrest in October 2009.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

In words that sometimes rang with pride, Christopher Gribble today described how he murdered a New Hampshire woman and how he tried to end the life of an 11-year-old girl who attempted to save her mother by jumping in between her mother’s killers.

AP Pool photo

Christopher Gribble on Monday

Gribble has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and today told a Nashua, N.H., courtroom how he, Spader, and two other men broke into the Cates home and snuck up to the master bedroom where both mother and daughter were sleeping.

Spader attacked with a machete, Gribble said, while he pulled a folding knife from a sheath on his belt and both launched a withering attack on Kimberly Cates.

“I was very precise,’’ Gribble told a Nashua, N.H., jury this afternoon. “I didn’t just jump and hack haphazardly. I was very controlled, not in comparison to him. He was just like all over the place.’’

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley has authorized Roman Catholic churches in the Boston archdiocese to collect donations to help the people of Japan after the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Japan and to the Catholic community there. The challenges facing the government and people of Japan are extraordinary," O'Malley said in a statement.

David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

The destruction at the Middleton building can be seen in this photo taken today.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

The investigation continued today at a manufacturing plant in Middleton where a chemical explosion Sunday injured four people.

State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan says his office and local fire officials are probing the cause of the fire, while investigators from the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials are looking at workplace safety issues.

He said investigator are examining the scene, interviewing witnesses, and learning more about the chemical processes that were used in the building.

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

One person was injured when a vehicle crashed into the front lobby of a Kingston bank this morning, the Kingston Fire Department said.

At 10:39 a.m., fire officials responded to the Rockland Trust branch in Kingsbury Square off Summer Street. They found the vehicle had crashed through the front doors, Fire Chief Robert Heath said in a statement.

Kim Haberlin/Office of the Governor

Joseph C. Laning (left), senior director of the UMass Human Stem Cell Bank and Registry, and Dr. Stephen Inglis, director of the UK Health Protection Agency’s National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, sign agreement to share best practices for stem cell banking.

By Glen Johnson, Globe Staff

Representatives of the University of Massachusetts Human Stem Cell Bank and Registry and the United Kingdom Stem Cell Bank signed an agreement today to share best practices for stem cell banking.

The two parties, acting during part of Governor Deval Patrick's trade mission to Israel and the United Kingdom, also agreed to collaborate on standards for stem cell line characterization, production, and distribution in the United States and UK.

The agreement was signed after Patrick met with Glyn Stacey, director of the UK Stem Cell Bank, at the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control in Hertfordshire, England.

It also follows a similar memorandum of understanding signed last week between Massachusetts and Israel for further collaboration in research and development programs between Bay State and Israeli companies.

By Globe Staff

Voters in Roxbury and other neighborhoods in Boston's City Council District 7 are heading to the polls this morning, choosing who will succeed Chuck Turner, who was forced out after being convicted on federal corruption charges.

By 9 a.m. today, 434 voters, or just over 1 percent of the registered voters, had made their choice between the two candidates on the ballot, Tito Jackson and Cornell Mills.

Read more about the candidates and their views on city issues here.

By Glen Johnson, Globe Staff

House Speaker Robert DeLeo today proposed a series of steps aimed at reducing the influence he and other lawmakers have over the hiring process at the state Probation Department, whose past practices are now the subject of state and federal criminal investigations.

John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

House Speaker Robert DeLeo

Only those who exceed a required score would advance, the Winthrop Democrat said, and "recommendation" letters from potential sponsors in the Legislature could only be opened in the final stages of evaluation. Afterward, letters written on behalf of all applicants who get hired would become public records, available for public and media inspection.

DeLeo had previously discussed a hiring process akin to the Civil Service procedure used for other state employees. It, too, requires a test that creates a pool of applicants.

"A job recommendation is a serious matter," DeLeo said of the lawmaker-letters that have sparked criticism but which lawmakers such as him defend as one of their fundamental responsibilities as a public representative. "We all know that a job recommendation from a public official carries weight, and I will be the first to say that all recommendations for successful candidates should be transparent."

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

Seasonable weather is forecast for today with spring-like temperatures expected for the rest of the week, according to the National Weather Service in Taunton.

The weather service predicts sunny skies for today, with highs in the 40s. Tonight will be partly cloudy with lows in the mid to upper 30s, and wind gusts up to 20 miles per hour on the Cape Cod and islands.

Rain showers will move into the region late tonight and continue periodically through Wednesday. Highs on Wednesday will be in the upper 40s to low 50s.

Out for a stroll on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston on Monday with their babies were, from left, Heather Borden, Kim Ryan, Abigail O'Niell, Devon Holden, and Sarah Cherry.

By Globe Staff

An 18-year-old man was shot to death last night while he was on the front porch of a Dorchester home, police said.

Boston police spokeswoman Jill Flynn said the man was found at 10:46 p.m. at 19 Groom St., suffering from several gunshot wounds.

He was rushed to Boston Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. Officials said it was the fifth homicide in Boston this year. There were 10 murders by this time last year.

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff

Two men were shot in separate incidents in Dorchester late Monday, police said.

In the first incident, the victim was shot near the intersection of Columbia Road and Devon Street in Grove Hall about 10:18 p.m., said David Estrada, a Boston police spokesman.

About 11 p.m., another man was shot a mile away on Groom Street in Uphams Corner, Estrada said.

Both men were taken to Boston Medical Center. Neither their names nor conditions were available tonight.

Estrada said there was no reason to believe the shootings were connected.

No arrests were made.

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

NEWTON -- It may seem an odd way to appeal to a crowd of Massachusetts voters: First, attack Mitt Romney, the last Republican to hold the governor's office. Then, go after President Kennedy, arguably the state's most revered Democrat.

Globe File Photo 2011

Rick Santorum

But Rick Santorum, a former US Senator from Pennsylvania who is courting conservatives as he weighs a presidential run, came to Massachusetts and did just that today, blaming Kennedy for marginalizing religion in public life and Romney for signing the Massachusetts health care law.

Santorum's criticisms were striking not only because he targeted two of the state's political figures on their home turf --- even criticizing the first Catholic president in a speech to a Catholic group -- but also because he campaigned for Romney in 2008.

Back then, Santorum, known for his outspoken opposition to gay rights and abortion, traveled with Romney across the South, telling Republican primary voters, "if you want to make sure we have a conservative nominee, you vote for Mitt Romney."

Now that the 2012 election is approaching, though, Santorum said he is "kicking around a run for president" and there's a "different field and a different set of issues."

"The issues, unfortunately, don't line up particularly well for Governor Romney this time, particularly with health care being front and center on the stage," Santorum told reporters at the Hotel Indigo in Newton.

David Powell

In a picture taken Friday night, Powell captured the somber mood of people who stopped to watch news of the catastrophe north of the city.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A former Massachusetts man has been documenting the scene as Tokyo struggles to return to normal after the earthquake that rattled the city and devastated other parts of Japan.

David Powell, 38, a director of Asia business operations for a large US IT company, shoots photos for a hobby and has been posting them to his blog at shoottokyo.com.

Powell, who grew up in North Attleboro, says there's a sense of caution and concern in the capital city as the aftershocks continue from the quake. While the quake shook up the city, in the hardest-hit areas to the north of the city, it wreaked havoc, killing thousands, leaving thousands homeless, and cutting off water, power, and heat to millions.

Globe science editor Gideon Gil talks about the nuclear crisis in Japan.

By Globe Staff

Be prepared for a slow ride at night for the next few days on Interstate 93 north of Boston.

Lane closures are planned, beginning tonight, on the highway in Medford, as the state prepares to replace 14 deteriorated bridges, state transportation officials said.

Matt Byrne

Malden crossing guard Armando Cuscuna, 80, stopped traffic for a student at the Beebe School on Route 60 in Malden today during a brief snow shower that was followed minutes later by sunshine.

By Globe Staff

Like an unwelcome guest showing up at the front door, a few snowflakes began tumbling out of the sky this afternoon in Boston, reminding snow-weary residents of the grueling winter. The snow quickly melted on the ground, even as the sun struggled to come out from behind the clouds.

National Weather Service forecasters had predicted cloudy skies and a slight risk of rain showers, with cool temperatures ranging from the mid-30s to the low 40s.

Forecasters say conditions will be dry tonight and Tuesday as a Canadian high pressure settles in. Lows tonight are expected to be in the mid-20s, while highs Tuesday will average in the 40s.

By Globe Staff

The Patrick administration today suspended two state officials who failed to properly inspect an escalator at the Auburn Mall where a 4-year-old boy suffered fatal injuries this weekend.

In a statement released this afternoon, Public Safety Commissioner Thomas E. Gatzunis said the oversight by the two inspectors left the escalator to operate in an unsafe condition. The boy’s death triggered the inquiry.

“I have suspended the two inspectors who previously inspected this unit at the Auburn Mall Sears store,’’ Gatzunis said in the statement. “Our continuing investigation has shown both inspectors failed to properly inspect the unit.’’

Pat Greenhouse / Globe Staff

Wayne Leduc pleaded not guilty today at his arraignment in Quincy District Court on a drunken driving charge. The Milton resident is accused of injuring State Police Trooper Brian Berry Sunday by crashing his car into Berry's cruiser on I-93 northbound near Exit 9 in Quincy.

By Globe Staff

Wayne Leduc appeared in Quincy District Court, where Judge Mark Coven set bail at $1,500 cash, according to a spokesman for Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey. Leduc has no prior criminal history, officials said.

Trooper Brian Berry, 43, was hit shortly after 4:30 a.m. after he had pulled over a car on the Southeast Expressway northbound near Exit 9 in Quincy, said State Police.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Tufts University President Lawrence Bacow, citing fears that a student might one day die, says he cannot let the university continue a decades-old tradition in which students drink heavily, then run around the quad naked, in the cold.

Michele McDonald

Lawrence Bacow

"Even if I did not act now, [the Naked Quad Run] would end some day. The only question is whether a student has to die first. We cannot allow this to happen, and the Naked Quad Run will not continue," he said, noting that the run is fueled by alcohol and a number of students were hospitalized after drinking too much during this December's run.

By Jenna Duncan, Globe Correspondent

Boston police are investigating today after someone placed a garden hose with running water into a home's oil intake pipe, causing the oil tank to overflow and spill outside a Mission Hill home.

“Obviously, it was deliberate,” said Steve MacDonald, a Boston Fire Department spokesman.

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

When students at the Wilbur Elementary School in Somerset brought home their MCAS scores last fall, parents were thrilled. Their math scores were off the charts, with an impressive 79 percent of fifth-graders scoring in the top category.

But for some parents who had watched their children struggle all year with their math assignments, the stellar results didn't add up. The year before, almost one in three fifth-graders failed to reach proficiency. This time around, none did.

Now, state education officials are investigating whether the scores are legitimate after receiving complaints from suspicious parents, according to parents and a school board member. In one anonymous allegation, a parent noted her child received an "advanced" score on the MCAS after receiving mediocre marks in her math class.

By Globe Staff

Boston firefighters today carefully rescued a crane operator who needed help getting out of the cabin of his crane at the Massachusetts Port Authority's Conley Terminal in South Boston, officials said.

The operator hurt his back while he was inside the cabin, located about 45 feet above ground, said Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald.

MacDonald said firefighters activated the technical rescue team based on Purchase Street because of the unique circumstances, he said.

Suzanne Kreiter / Globe Staff

MIDDLETON -- Public safety vehicles are positioned near the Bostik Inc. chemical plant, the site of an explosion and fire on Sunday. Four workers were injured.

By Globe Staff

A multi-agency task force will be assembled to probe Sunday night's explosion at a chemical plant in Middleton that heavily damaged a company that makes sealants, officials said this morning.

State Fire Marshal Steve Coan said today he has notified the US Chemical Safety Board about the explosion at the Bostik Inc. plant. He said he expects state troopers from his office will join investigators from the Middleton fire and police departments, state public safety officials, and officials from the federal Occupational Safety and Health administration.

Officials said four workers sustained injuries that were not life-threatening in the explosion and four-alarm fire. The blast could be heard and felt for miles in neighboring communities.

Globe metro editor Jennifer Peter and assistant metro editor Roy Greene are chatting with readers about Boston's school assignment program at 1 p.m.

The first story in the series Sunday described the wrenching decision many familes face as they navigate the school lottery process. For some, that means a difficult choice between sticking it out in a city with wildly inconsistent schools or moving to a suburb where finding a good school seems less of a gamble.

By Taylor S. Gearhart, Aaron Lester, and Emma Stickgold, Globe Correspondents

MIDDLETON -- Four employees are reported injured following an explosion and fire at a Middleton chemical plant.

The victims were plant employees according to Frank Twiss, Middleton's fire chief. Their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

Firefighters from across the region, along with state police and emergency management officials, spent more than two hours battling the blaze at 211 Boston St., listed as owned by the Bostik Company, an adhesive and sealant manufacturer.

Beverly Peterson, who lives near the plant, said in a telephone interview that she heard "a big bang" about five minutes before 8 p.m.
 
“We’re really concerned," she said. "And we saw a bunch of ambulances head down toward the plant, but we weren’t sure if the explosion was coming from there or not.”

By Aaron Lester, Globe Correspondent

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced a new partnership between the U.S. Department of State and five prestigious all-female colleges.

The Women and Public Service Initiative will bring together the resources of Smith, Wellesley, Mount Holyoke, Barnard and Bryn Mawr, with the State Department to increase the participation of women around the globe, in public service and political leadership, Clinton, a 1969 Wellesley alumna, said on Friday.

“Together we will seek to promote the next generation of women leaders who will invest in their countries and communities, provide leadership for their governments and societies, and help change the way global solutions are developed,” Clinton said.

By Stewart Bishop, Globe Correspondent

A four-year-old Dudley boy died yesterday from injuries he suffered after he fell from an escalator in an Auburn mall, authorities said.

The boy, identified as Mark DiBona, died shortly before 10 p.m. last night at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Memorial Campus in Worcester, Tim Connolly, a spokesman for Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr. said in a statement.

At about 6:35 p.m. on Friday, the boy fell from the second floor escalator in the Sears department store to the floor below, Connolly said.

At the time of the accident, the boy was shopping with family members and a friend. Connolly said Mark was the son of Eric and Laura DiBona of Dudley.

By Stewart Bishop, Globe Correspondent

A state trooper was injured this morning after an alleged drunk driver crashed into the trooper's parked cruiser on Interstate 93, which then struck the trooper, officials said.

The trooper was hit at 4:50 a.m. while he was conducting a vehicle stop on I-93 northbound near exit 9 in Quincy, David Procopio, a State Police spokesman, said in a statement.

The trooper was taken to Boston Medical Center with leg injuries, and is in stable condition, Procopio said.

The driver was identified as Wayne Leduc, 40, of Milton. He was arrested and charged with operating under the influence, operating to endanger, failure to move over for an emergency vehicle and a marked lanes violation, according to Procopio.

The crash is the latest in a series of crashes that have left state troopers injured on Massachusetts highways.

On Wednesday morning, Trooper Edward Treseler, a 54-year-old father of two, was seriously injured on Route 30 in Framingham when his cruiser was struck head on by a car that crossed the median.

This morning's crash is at least the 12th serious crash over the past 15 months in which a trooper was injured due to suspected impaired driving, erratic driving, or speeding, according to the State Police.

No further information was immediately available.

Anyone with relatives or friends in ravaged sections of Japan who would like to share their stories, please send a brief description with your telephone number to localnews@globe.com and write in the subject line: local stories about Japan.

Thank you.

By Matt Byrne and Christopher J. Girard, Globe Correspondents

CAMBRIDGE -- Authorities are investigating the shootings of two people, one fatally, in a car near Central Square in Cambridge early this morning.

About 12:15 a.m., police responded to the shooting and found a white car with the two victims and another person inside, according to a statement released this morning by the Office of Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone.

James Lauture, 30, of Cambridge, was pronounced dead after he was taken to an area hospital, according to the statement. The other victim is expected to survive.

After the shooting, at Watson and Brookline streets, the victims drove from the scene and flagged down a fire truck, and firefighters alerted police, according to the statement.

By Globe Staff

A man who was trying to park his car at the Terminal B parking garage at Logan International Airport is facing charges of making a false bomb threat after claiming to parking attendants he had a bomb in his trunk, State Police said.

Nicolas Cauchy, 51, of Cambridge allegedly made the comment when attendants were screening his vehicle at 4:24 p.m.

Troopers assigned to the airport and the State Police bomb squad responded. They checked the car and found no explosives, officials said.

Cauchy also faces a charge of disorderly conduct, State Police said in a statement.

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

At the Showa Institute Boston, a satellite campus for English majors from the Showa Women's University in Tokyo, the devastation and death in Japan were on everyone's minds.

Yasu Ikuma, a teacher at the Jamaica Plain school, said he couldn't believe his eyes as he watched on a Japanese television channel footage of the destruction wrought by the quake and tsunami. He said the footage was particularly difficult to watch because he grew up in the area hardest hit and has relatives living there.

"The first thing that came to my mouth was, 'Oh, my goodness!' I couldn't believe the scene I saw on TV. The huge tsunami was washing the area I was born and grew up in. My mind went to my relatives and my friends still living in that area."

Here's a collection of links, photos, and videos from around the Web documenting developments with the massive earthquake and resultant tsunami that struck Japan today. We are assembling this material using Storify.

By Akilah Johnson, Globe Staff

Kristen Gately’s new tricycle means independence and the chance to keep pace with friends, many of whom can run and jump without the assistance of a walker or leg braces.

The shy first-grader with cerebral palsy who takes halting steps and, at times, uses a walker, learned to ride about a about a month ago as part of her physical therapy at the William Henderson Inclusion Elementary School in Dorchester. And already she can whiz up and down the hallways as she demonstrated today while racing two friends.

Now, thanks to a nonprofit organization started by a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, she’ll be able to take home a tricycle of her own.

“It will completely change her life in such a big way, because for kids to be happy they have to have friends to play with, and with the bike, she will be able to play with other kids,” her mother Patty Gately said at the school. “I don’t have to hold on to her all the time."

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

JERUSALEM – Business men and women traveling with Governor Deval Patrick
said they came away with serious prospects and strong relationships, but no deals to announce, as the Israeli portion of the state's trade mission ended today.

Many of the leaders are flying back to Boston, some on commercial airlines, others on private jets. A smaller portion of the delegation is continuing with Patrick to London over the weekend.

Patrick had one more meeting in Israel, with Palestinian Prime Minister Salem Fayyad, before holding meetings in the United Kingdom until Thursday.

Judging the ultimate value of the trip, which will cost $300,000 in public money, will be difficult. Even if deals are reached, it will be hard in many cases to determine whether they were sparked specifically because of the meetings initiated on the trip.

Some delegates gained valuable access to the governor, while Patrick himself cautioned that in a modern economy, success is not necessarily defined by signed contracts, but by building relationships that lead to future deals.

John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

Kazuma Uemura, 31, owner of the Japan Village Market in Brookline, gathers his thoughts as he talks about his relatives in Japan.

By David Abel and Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff, and Jenna Duncan, Globe Correspondent

They’ve been trying to reach relatives, dialing their phones repeatedly, but they keep getting busy signals.

Akio Imagawa, 56, manager of the Ebisuya market in Medford, moved to the United States 15 years ago from Japan but much of his and his wife’s family remain in Tokyo, where they have grown accustomed to the earth shaking.

But this was no typical earthquake, and Imagawa was worried, especially about his daughter, who lives in a Tokyo high-rise.

“I dial, but all I get is a busy signal,” Imagawa said this morning, when he spent hours watching the news on TV and finally received an email from his daughter, who said she was fine except for a lot of broken furniture in her apartment. “I’m very sad and worried for my country.”

Mike Hagerty of the Weston Observatory at Boston College talks about the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan. He says we seem to be in a period of heightened earthquake activity around the world.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

It happened as a bus carrying a delegation of prominent Japanese-Americans neared a downtown Tokyo hotel where a meeting was scheduled with a group of Japanese businessmen.

Ken Oye

"The shaking was very, very strong," Ken Oye, a professor at MIT, said in a telephone interview. "When you looked out the windows, you could see other vehicles tilting back and forth, buildings swaying, construction cranes on top of buildings wiggling back and forth."

"It was a quite strong sense of motion," said Oye, a Cambridge resident. But, he said, none of the buildings collapsed, which he called a testament to tough building codes and good engineering.

"To tell you the truth, that's remarkable," he said. "You look around and there's no damage and you can't believe it."

By Globe Staff

A Massachusetts state trooper and Worcester police officers apprehended a bank robbery suspect on Park Avenue in Worcester after he allegedly held up a Bank of America branch in the area, State Police said.

The drama unfolded shortly after 9 a.m. today when State Police from Troop C and Worcester police responded to multiple cellphone calls reporting a robbery in progress at the Bank of America at 651 Park Ave.

The calls stated the suspect was leaving the scene of the robbery on a bicycle.

Trooper Sean Healy spotted the suspect near the Burger King and a foot pursuit began, according to a State Police press release.

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Staff

Minor flooding is forecast in some areas of Massachusetts today as heavy rain pours down. But the weather is expected to clear and sunny skies and warm temperatures are expected for the weekend, according to the National Weather Service in Taunton.

“Except for ponding in the roads or maybe the occasional street flooding we don’t expect any issues, assuming the forecast holds,” said Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

The weather service reports that the Assabet River in Maynard, and the Charles River are expected to slightly overflow. Rain amounts are forecast to total one-half to one inch of rain.

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

The Bowker Overpass on Storrow Drive has reopened after temporary repairs were made to the ramp feeding traffic into the Kenmore Square neighborhood.

State Police said the ramp reopened around 11 a.m. today.

The off-ramp from the overpass to Commonwealth Avenue had been shut down since about 7:30 a.m. after a large pothole opened up on the roadway, which has undergone frequent repairs.

Officials said the pothole, described as a foot wide and 12 feet long, was so large that debris crumbled through the roadway onto a grassy area near the Muddy River below.

State Police said the ramp will be open for the evening commute. A permanent fix is expected to be done overnight, State Police said.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

The massive earthquake that hit Japan today may signal that the Pacific Ocean region is entering a new phase of geological turmoil that potentially could last for decades and bring repeated waves of destruction along the shores of the world’s largest ocean, a specialist said this morning.

Seismologist John E. Ebel of Boston College’s Weston Observatory said today that Pacific Rim countries suffered major earthquakes between 1946 and 1964.

In geological terms, the region then underwent a period of relative peace. But, beginning with the Indonesian quake of 2004 that hit 9.1 on the Richter scale and created a tsunami that killed an estimated 230,000 people, the Pacific Rim has recently suffered a series of massive quakes. Chile, for example, was hit last year with 8.8 quake, the latest in a series of major quakes in the South American country.

“We seem to be in a time now where we are having another one of those periods where we have truly massive earthquakes’’ of magnitude 8 or greater, Ebel said in a telephone interview. “We don’t know how long this period will last.’’

By Vivan Ho, Globe Correspondent

Three people, including a pedestrian, were injured yesterday during a police pursuit of a stolen vehicle in Roxbury, Boston police said.

Officers began following a car with disfigured license plates at Columbus Avenue and Dimock Street about 11:25 a.m., said Officer Eddy Chrispin, spokesman for the Boston police. Police became aware the car was stolen and activated their lights and sirens.

The car turned onto Dimock Street and struck a pedestrian, causing police to end their pursuit, Chrispin said. The person was taken to an area hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

The stolen car continued onto Cobden Street, in the wrong direction on the one-way venue, hit a car on Walnut Avenue and clipped another at Walnut Avenue and Seaver Street, less than a half mile from where the pursuit began, Chrispin said. The two people in the cars that were hit were also transported to an area hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. None of the injured were identified.

The suspects fled the disabled vehicle but were captured and arrested, Chrispin said.

By Vivan Ho, Globe Correspondent

A hazardous matrials team responded tonight to Medford, where a package containing a solvent leaked in a delivery truck, sickening the driver, according to the Medford Fire Department.

Medford Fire responded to a medical call in the parking lot of the Kohl's Department Store on Mystic Valley Parkway about 8 p.m., said Deputy Fire Chief Steve Howe.

Firefighters found a FedEx driver outside his truck, in respiratory distress. After speaking with him, firefighters discovered that a package had leaked inside the truck, and they called the Metro Hazmat Team.

The package was contained and capped within a few hours of the call. While the team followed procedure as a precaution, the package posed no danger for the public or civilians, Howe said.

The driver was treated for respiratory issues at Lawrence Memorial Hospital and released within a few hours, Howe said.

Clean-up crews paid for by FedEx remain on the scene.

Globe editor Joe Sullivan talks about allegations that Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather shot two men.

By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff

Harvard University today named Wendel W. "Tad" Meyer as the acting Pusey Minister in Memorial Church as the school searches for a permanent successor to the Rev. Peter J. Gomes, who died last week.

Meyer, who had been associate minister of Memorial Church for two years in the late 1990s, returned to the university in December as associate minister for administration after serving for a decade as rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Beverly Farms. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1979 in New Haven, and held church positions there as well as in Buffalo and Philadelphia.

"I think of this assignment as my small but tangible way to honor the memory of Peter Gomes, who was a cherished friend and mentor to me and to so many others," Meyer said in a written statement.

A memorial service celebrating the life and ministry of Rev. Gomes will be held in Memorial Church at 11 a.m. on April 6.

Tracy Jan can be reached at tjan@globe.com

Andover Fire Department

It looked bad for a while, but everything turned out all right for Willie the horse.

By Jenna Duncan, Globe Correspondent

A 25-year-old horse was rescued by the Andover Fire Department after falling on ice in his paddock and struggling on his back for an hour, officials said.

The horse, named Willie, slipped in his paddock on some ice and snow near the fence rail and slid down towards the fence, Deputy Fire Chief Jim Dolan said. Once he had fallen to the ground, the animal was unable to get himself up and was at about a 45-degree angle, Dolan said.

A special rescue team and a veterinarian from the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals responded to the scene around noon.

Dolan said the rescue team tied ropes around Willie’s legs, pulled him to the center of the paddock, and rolled him over. Dolan said the horse was then able to get up on his own.

MBTA Photo

T General Manager Richard Davey and Corrado at today's ceremony.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

An Orange Line train operator received a commendation today for acting quickly to stop her train when a man toppled from a North Station platform onto the tracks.

"Obviously, her actions yesterday averted what could have been a tragedy. She did see the customers on the platform flagging her down furiously and she was able to bring her train to an emergency stop," Davey said in a telephone interview. "She was very attentive to what was going on and reacted exactly as we would have hoped."

Corrado said, "The passengers in the middle of the platform were, like, saying, 'Stop, stop!' I just immediately threw the train into emergency stop. The train stopped and I saw the [customers] were pulling the guy out of the pit."

She said the train stopped about 30 feet short of where the passenger was being pulled out.

"It felt good" to get the recognition, she said, but "I hope that it never happens again."

MBTA surveillance video released Wednesday evening showed the man walking at 3:21 p.m. ever closer to the yellow warning strip and then falling in. Bystanders helped him out of the pit as the lights of the oncoming train grew brighter.

By Globe Staff

The MBTA halted Blue Line service for about a half-hour today when Boston police officers chased a man believed to be armed with a knife into the Aquarium station and then pursued him down the subway tunnel in the direction of the State Street station, according to a T spokeswoman.

Boston police entered the Aquarium station around 1:30 p.m. and quickly halted electricity to the third rail, which powers Blue Line trains through the downtown neighborhood, Lydia Rivera said.

The suspect managed to escape out of an emergency exit somewhere between the Aquarium and State Street stations, authorities said.

By Jenna Duncan, Globe Correspondent

A State Police dive team and helicopter have been dispatched to the Spicket River in Methuen this afternoon to aid local police in the search for 15-year-old Brynne Kurmas, who has been missing since Tuesday night, police said.

Brynne Kurmas

"Basically right now we are focusing our efforts in the Spicket River,” said Pappalardo. “There’s some indication that she may have been in that area.”

Anyone with information can contact the Methuen Police Department at 978-983-8698.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Convening a White House conference on bullying prevention today, President Obama mentioned the case of a young Springfield boy who committed suicide after being bullied.

Obama said children like Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover "should have felt nothing but excitement for the future. Instead, they felt like they had nowhere to turn, as if they had no escape from taunting and bullying that made school something they feared."

Obama went on to recognize Walker-Hoover's mother and sister as well as the parents of another bullying victim for their "incredible courage as advocates against bullying."

"No family should have to go through what these families have gone through. No child should feel that alone," he said, speaking as more than 150 students, parents, and educators gathered at the White House.

By Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff

MALDEN – A Malden man was charged with murder and ordered held without bail today for allegedly killing his husband in what authorities called a domestic dispute.

Michael Losee, 41, was charged in the stabbing death of his husband, Brian Bergeron, 55, in their Clarendon Street home.

Losee turned himself into authorities Wednesday, and a not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf at his arraignment today in Malden District Court. The next court hearing is scheduled for April 29.

An attorney for Losee, Norman Zalkind, said today he expects to bring the case to trial, but he could not comment on the details of the alleged murder.

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

A light rain will sweep into the region this afternoon, with heavier showers resulting in minor flooding tomorrow, according to the National Weather Service in Taunton.

Charlie Foley, a meteorologist for the weather service, said it will only take a bit more water for smaller streams to overflow.

“It will cause minor flooding. We aren’t looking at any major life-threatening flooding,” Foley said.

A flood watch is in effect for Berkshire County today until Friday afternoon. Additionally, a flood watch will go into effect Friday in parts of Middlesex, Essex, Worcester, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties, along with portions of southern New Hampshire.

By Globe Staff

JERUSALEM – Governor Deval Patrick and his Israeli hosts today signed an agreement that will strengthen research and development links between the Bay State’s research consortiums and Israeli companies.

The memorandum of understanding directly connects Massachusetts to the Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor. Both governments will scour companies operating within their borders hoping to identify ideas, businesses, and technology that can help grow local economies.

"Today, we take a new step that will ensure our mutual prosperity and leverage the talents of our uniquely skilled workforces," Patrick said in a statement released here and by his office in Boston.

Adam Hunger for The Boston Globe

The flooding left behind big puddles on Oak Street this morning.

By Globe Staff

An inflatable rubber plug failed early this morning in a Massachusetts Water Resources Authority pond in Weston, flooding out one home and forcing the temporary closure of Oak Street.

MWRA Executive Director Frederick A. Laskey said in a telephone interview today that the plug was installed about a year ago by a contractor hired to overhaul and upgrade the Norumbega Reservoir and its overflow pond, Schenks Pond.

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

JERUSALEM – The mood of Governor Deval Patrick’s trade mission to Israel shifted considerably this afternoon as the delegates departed from business and government meetings to tour Israel’s Holocaust memorial and museum, Yad Vashem, on a cold and rainy Israeli day.

None was unmoved and many were crying as they walked through a candlelit hall bearing the names, ages, and hometowns of children who died in the Holocaust or, inside a dome, looked around at the seemingly endless bound volumes with the names of 4 million dead.

Many declined to eat lunch when the tour ended.

Patrick was mostly silent as he passed through a large vat of shoes collected from victims and as he glanced at Nazi propaganda and a film showing the mass burial of Holocaust victims.

He asked occasional questions of tour guide Edna Wilchfort, the child of two survivors.

Patrick paused when he came to a display featuring 17 prominent German Jews who were forced from Gemany before the Nazis opened their extermination camps.

Next to the names Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud was Max Reinhardt, an actor and director whose son, a federal judge in California, served as an early mentor to Patrick.

MBTA

A still captured from the MBTA surveillance video shows the moment the man fell into the pit -- and the lights of the train in the distance.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A man who was unsteady on his feet tumbled into the Orange Line train pit at North Station this afternoon but was helped out of the pit by customers on the platform as a train approached.

Surveillance video released by the MBTA showed the man walking at 3:21 p.m. ever closer to the yellow warning strip and then falling in. Bystanders flocked to help him as the lights of the oncoming train grew brighter.

The man made no contact with the third rail. He had no visible signs of serious injury but was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital to be checked out, Rivera said.

Kristen Romanelli

Kristen Romanelli, who works in the area, took this shot of the arrest. It was not immediately clear why two men appear to be under arrest.

By Globe Staff

An arrest has been made in connection with two bank robberies last week in Everett and Winthrop, law enforcement authorities said this morning.

Greg Comcowich, an FBI spokesman, said the suspect was arrested near the TD Garden this morning as part of a joint investigation by the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; State Police; Boston police; Winthrop police; and the MBTA.

He did not release any other details on the arrest. Authorities said the suspect allegedly robbed the East Boston Savings Bank in Everett on March 3 and the Bank of America in Winthrop on March 4. In both instances, police said the suspect claimed to have an explosive device. The device left behind in Everett was believed to be fake.

The FBI and the US attorney's office are expected to release more details on the arrest later this afternoon.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff, and Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

The northbound ramp between Route 128 and Interstate 95 will be closed for this evening's commute as crews rush to clean up an inky mess caused when a tractor-trailer hauling commercial ink cartridges rolled over, State Police said.

Authorities said about 500 feet of roadway must now be replaced because of the spilled ink and the state hopes to complete the repair work before the morning commute.

No other vehicles were involved and the driver was not injured in the crash, which occurred about 6:10 a.m.

The ink reached two storm drains, but it is not considered a hazardous material. An environmental cleanup company has been summoned to the scene and a "careful cleanup" will be conducted under the supervision of state environmental officials, State Police spokesman David Procopio said in a statement.

Globe deputy city editor Mike Bello discusses the traffic nightmare on the North Shore, where an ink truck crash this morning has forced the closure of the ramp from Route 128 to Interstate 95 North in Peabody.

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

Cheers erupted from all corners of Deer Hill Elementary School in Cohasset this afternoon, as the space shuttle Discovery, carrying Deer Hill alumnus Steve Bowen, landed for the last time.

“We consider him a very special friend,” said Jennifer DeChiara, principal of Deer Hill Elementary School.

DeChiara said that Bowen has visited the Deer Hill Elementary School a number of times, most recently this fall. He presented a slide show to the kids, featuring photos of Earth from outer space, scenes within the space shuttle, and him and his fellow astronauts doing a spacewalk.

The kids were also given the opportunity to ask him questions about life in the shuttle, like, "What do astronauts eat in space?" or "How do they exercise?"

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

FRAMINGHAM -- A car driving side-by-side with another car at high speed on Route 30 in Framingham smashed into a cruiser containing a veteran state trooper early today, critically injuring the car's driver but leaving the trooper nearly unscathed, State Police said.

Investigators are probing whether the two cars had been drag racing just before the crash.

Alejandro Ramos, 27, the driver of the Hyundai Tiburon that crashed into the cruiser, sustained critical injuries. He was Medflighted to Massachusetts General Hospital. Falcaneri P. Fuentes, 31, the driver of the other car, a Honda Civic, was not injured, nor was his passenger, Yenci Pineda, 19.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

The Massachusetts Appeals Court today threw out the drunken driving conviction of a Mattapan man who killed a Northeastern University student when he drove his SUV into a crowd of people celebrating the New England Patriots Super Bowl win in 2004 in the Fenway.

However, the court upheld the involuntary manslaughter conviction of Stanley Filoma for the death of James Grabowski, a West Newbury native, who was fatally injured when Filoma sped down Symphony Road on Feb. 1, 2004.

“The overwhelming evidence substantiated an episode of extraordinarily willful, wanton, or reckless conduct: the acceleration during the nighttime both backward and forward through a narrow street choked with milling pedestrians,’’ Judge Mitchell J. Sikora Jr. wrote for the three-judge panel.

Grabowski was one of five people hurt by Filoma, whom prosecutors said during his trial had a blood alcohol level between 0.10 and 0.14 at the time of the crash.

The Appeals Court said that because prosecutors never told jurors how Filoma’s driving skills would have been impacted by such a high blood alcohol level, his conviction on the drunken driving charge must be overturned.

By Globe Staff

A large dump truck has crashed on Massachusetts Turnpike in Brighton, causing traffic delays for eastbound commuters.

The 18-wheel tractor trailer was empty, but has come to rest sprawling across three traffic lanes, State Police said.

One lane, the left lane, remains open. The crash occurred just east of Exit 19 around 12:25 p.m.

No further information is currently available.

It's shaping up to be a major happening for those who are fans of the royals, and the Globe wants to know: Will you be there?

Reporter Billy Baker is looking to speak to people who are planning to cross the pond to London for the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton next month.

Please e-mail him at billybaker@globe.com if you or someone you know is planning to be there.

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

JERUSALEM – Governor Deval Patrick this morning began a series of meetings with top Israeli officials, including its prime minister, after being acknowledged from the floor of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.

Patrick is being accompanied on this leg of his visit by three members of his Cabinet, as well as Suffolk Construction chief John Fish and the most popular member of his entourage, Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots.

He is being followed by a camera crew for an NFL story.

Patrick met with Danny Ayalon, the deputy foreign minister, who also read a proclamation welcoming Patrick and the delegation to Israel, including “my very good friend, Robert “Bobby” Kraft.’’

The acknowledgment in the Israeli parliament was welcomed by Fish — who called it “incredible, absolutely incredible’’ — and by the governor. “It’s amazing to be acknowledged from the floor of the Knesset,’’ Patrick said.

The delegation was given a brief tour of exhibits in the building, viewing a replica of the Jewish state’s declaration of independence and large-wall tapestries painted by noted Jewish artist Marc Chagall depicting the past, present, and future of the Jewish people.

During the part of the meeting with Ayalon that was open to the press, Patrick talked about this key economic themes he has been drumming through this trade mission to Israel.

“We’ve covered a lot of ground in every sense of that term,’’ Patrick told Ayalon.

He said he told the deputy foreign minister that the business relationship between Massachusetts and Israel was already strong, but he added, “the more the better.’’

Kraft swiftly added in Hebrew, “More to come.’’

Later today, Patrick was meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli opposition figures.

Most those meetings were closed to the press.

Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahbierman.

President Obama mingled with guests and students while they took his picture following his speech at TechBoston Academy in Dorchester Tuesday.

Barry Chin Globe Staff

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

Seasonable temperatures in the 30s and 40s are forecast for today, with rain expected for Thursday and a decent chance of small-stream flooding Thursday into Friday, forecasters said.

“The more serious rain that’s steadier and more frequent comes late Thursday night into Friday,” said Charlie Foley, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Taunton. “That’s where our concern is for flooding.”

Cloudy skies are forecast for today, with highs in the upper 30s for Boston and the Cape and islands, and in the low to mid-40s for the rest of Massachusetts.

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

HAIFA, Israel – Governor Deval Patrick’s trade mission to Israel was moving from
Tel Aviv to Haifa and then Jerusalem today, and many delegates from Massachusetts contemplated what notes they wanted to bring when the group traveled to the Western Wall.

It's one of the holiest sites in the world.

Helene Solomon, CEO of Solomon McCown & Company, a public relations firm in Boston, said she planned to bring a special blessing from the man who works at the garage where she parks her car in Boston.

He is an Ethiopian immigrant, a member of one of the world’s most interesting and historic Jewish communities. He was thrilled that Solomon was traveling to Israel, home of many Ethiopian Jews, with the governor, she said.

His own father had been an Orthodox Jew, he told Solomon, and passed away three months ago.

The note is a message for him, Solomon said.

Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahbierman.

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

HAIFA, Israel – Who’s the bald guy standing next to Governor Deval Patrick in all the pictures and videos from Israel?

There are two of them actually, a pair of key handlers for the governor’s maiden voyage to the Holy Land.

Shai Bazak is the 43-year-old consul general of Israel in charge of New England. He’s often whispering into Patrick’s ear — coaching him on the background of the people he’s about to meet, pulling him aside for a quick history lesson, or directing him to a good cup of coffee.

Bazak is veteran of the Israeli government. He served as a spokesman for Benjamin Netanyahu when he led the opposition party, as well as during his first term as prime minister from 1994 through 1998. (Before that, he was a sharpshooter and commander in special units of the army.)

After that, Bazak went to Miami as the youngest consul general in Israel’s history. He took Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Puerto Rican Governor Pedro Rossello on separate missions to his country just over a decade ago.

A charmer in two languages, Bazak loves to joke with the business delegates and the
press. And he loves it even more when his picture is in the paper or on television.

He came to Boston four months ago and lives in Brookline, the home of many Israelis and the center of Massachusetts’ Jewish community. Bazak has 2-year-old twin girls, pulling their video up often on his iPhone.

Contributed photo

Boston firefighters in yellow survival suits recovered the body of David Mark from the Chelsea River in East Boston today.

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff, and Stewart Bishop, Globe Correspondent

Only days after his parents made a tearful plea for help in finding their son, police identified a body found this morning on the shore of the Chelsea River in East Boston as the missing Albany, N.Y., man suffering from diabetes.

The body of David Mark, 24, was found by a passerby just before 8 a.m. on the shore of city-owned land between Urban Wild, a local walking park, and a commercial fishing business off Condor Street, near Meridian Street. Police said there were no obvious signs of trauma, and that an autopsy will be conducted.

Mark’s parents made emotional, impassioned pleas on Saturday and Sunday for the public’s assistance in finding their son, who had been missing since last Wednesday.

By Stewart Bishop, Globe Correspondent

The director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, R. Gil Kerlikowske, also known as the "Drug Czar," collapsed this afternoon while speaking to law students at Harvard, officials said.

Shortly before 2 p.m, Kerlikowske was speaking to students about US drug policy when he fell ill and fainted, said Rafael Lemaitre, a spokesman for the drug control office.

After being treated by emergency medical personnel at the scene, Kerlikowske was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was evaluated and released, Lemaitre said. Later today, at Logan International Airport on his way back to Washington, D.C., Kerlikowske fainted again at about 6 p.m. and was taken back to MGH for further evaluation.

Lemaitre said that Kerlikowske was alert and speaking with doctors.

Kerlikowske initially fell ill while speaking to a class called "Race and Justice: The Wire," which examines the far-ranging legal procedures, including police procedure, crime policy, criminal investigation, drug interdiction, and sentencing alternatives and other topics that were featured in the acclaimed HBO TV series "The Wire."

By Kevin Cullen, Globe Columnist

They met in the Blue Cross Blue Shield board room, on the 8th floor of the old Sears building in the Fenway, and Andrew Dreyfus, the current and only non-gazillionaire Blue Cross CEO we know of, was channeling Marlon Brando as he made his board of directors an offer they couldn't refuse.

Give up your salaries, he suggested, and maybe, just maybe, the people -- give him credit: he didn't say rabble -- will pipe down enough so that we can have a more important conversation about the real causes behind spiraling health care costs.

They agreed unanimously to do so. Just like they had agreed unanimously to give Dreyfus's predecessor, Cleve Killingsworth, a big wet kiss worth $11 million to leave the state's biggest insurer after he ran the non-profit deeper into the red.

It was that previous unanimous vote, done quietly behind closed doors, that led to this more painful (for the board) unanimous vote done in private but proclaimed publicly in an effort to appease the rest of us holding the torches and pitchforks.

All but one of the board's 18 members were either in the room or on speaker phone, and the other one, Bentley College president Gloria Larson, was briefed by Dreyfus before the meeting and gave her blessings, Dreyfus said.

Presumably those on the phone could have put their free hand over the mouthpiece and uttered something unprintable.

But Dreyfus insisted that everybody on the board took the idea of giving up their salaries like an adult.

Bill Greene/Globe Staff

Obama called for tougher standards and increased spending in his speech at TechBoston Academy.

By Peter Schworm and Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

Speaking at a Dorchester high school today, President Obama called for a combination of tougher standards and increased spending to improve the nation's public schools and prepare students for a technology-driven world.

Greeted by screaming applause, Obama said schools like TechBoston are helping students from low-income families attend college, and said all children should be able to attend similarly strong schools.

Related

Photos: Obama in Boston

• Video President's speech
• Obama popular with students
• Obama to meet with Celtics at MFA fund-raiser
• Blog posts on the speech
• Submit Send us your photos
• Twitter updates
• Joe Kennedy, elderly couple, decry Obama budget cuts

Standing before a blue background with the catch phrase "Winning the Future," Obama said too many students are dropping out of high school, or graduating without the necessary skills to succeed.

"That's not acceptable," he said. "The most effective way to create jobs in this country is to change those statistics.”

Bill Greene/Globe Staff

The president talked to students in a biotechnology class at the Dorchester school.

By Michael Levenson and Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

At the TechBoston Academy in Dorchester today, President Obama visited a biotechnology class, where 20 students waited in giddy anticipation. As the teacher, James Louis, spoke to the class, an unmistakable voice was heard.

“Mr. Louis!” Obama said as he entered the room. Some students seemed ready to cry with excitement, and a few buried their heads in their hands.

Accompanied by philanthropist Melinda Gates, Obama went table to table talking to the students. He asked them what they planned to study in college and offered words of encouragement.

“You guys are doing great,” he told one group. “I’m really proud of you.”

John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

Pallbearers rolled the casket out of the church.

By Emily Sweeney, Globe Staff

A standing-room-only crowd gathered at the First Baptist Church of Plymouth today to celebrate the life – and mourn the loss – of the Rev. Peter J. Gomes, a respected professor, best-selling author, and popular preacher who died Feb. 28 at the age of 68.

Laughter filled the church – and tears were shed -- during the funeral service, as friends remembered the accomplishments of a prominent man of the cloth who rubbed elbows with dignitaries, once left TV host Stephen Colbert speechless, and was known to enjoy sitting on his porch in Plymouth in his underwear, puffing on a cigar while reading the newspaper.

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

Citizens Energy chairman Joseph P. Kennedy II, a former Democratic congressman, said today he was not considering running against Republican US Senator Scott Brown, "not even a little bit right now."

Kennedy was joined by two current Democratic congressmen, Michael Capuano and James McGovern, in an East Boston news conference today criticizing proposed cuts to heating assistance for low-income people.

When asked by a reporter if he would run against Brown so he could advocate in Washington for such programs, Kennedy said, "I start to feel ill all of a sudden. Listen, there's two congressmen back here who would do a great job in running against Scott Brown."

Jessica Bartlett for The Boston Globe

The seal basked in the sun with Boston Harbor in the background.

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

A harp seal has taken up residence in marshes near Marina Bay in Quincy, and New England Aquarium biologist said today the animal is one of an unusually large number of harp seals traveling through Boston Harbor this year.

Adam Kennedy, a biologist for the rescue team from the New England Aquarium, said the harp seal discovered in Quincy is likely migrating toward Canadian waters. He said the Quincy harp seal will be left alone and is likely to hang around for the next several days as it replenishes itself.

Kennedy said harp seals typically weigh between 200 to 250 pounds and are white with a brownish black stripe on their face and back. The stripe resembles a harp, which is how the breed got its name, he said.

Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe

Joseph P. Kennedy II and East Boston residents Katherine Oliveri, 82, and Joe Oliveri, 84, criticize cuts in the federal fuel assistance program backed by President Obama. The couple's fuel assistance would be cut in half. Behind the couple are Democratic US Representatives Jim McGovern and Michael Capuano.

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

Citizens Energy Chairman Joseph P. Kennedy II, a long-time advocate for low-income families, stood with an elderly East Boston couple today to decry a proposed dramatic cut in the federal fuel assistance program.

Kennedy, in his news conference, noted President Obama's visit to Boston today, saying that while he supports the president, he believes Obama has yielded too much to the Republican majority when it comes to next year's federal allotment for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP.

By Andrea Estes and Scott Allen, Globe Staff

One of the codefendants in the corruption case against former House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi pleaded guilty to conspiracy, extortion, and mail and wire fraud this afternoon, in a plea agreement that requires him to help the prosecution build their case against his three codefendants.

Joseph P. Lally Jr., the salesman who sold the state two separate multimillion-dollar software contracts at the center of the case, calmly answered, "Yes, your honor," when asked by US District Court Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf whether he was guilty of eight charges.

Under the agreement, prosecutors recommended Lally serve only two to three years in prison as long as he assists the prosecutors.

"Today, I accepted responsibility for my actions," said Lally, a North Reading resident, speaking to reporters outside the federal courtroom in Boston on his 50th birthday. "It's the first step toward moving forward and putting this whole matter behind me."

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Saying he's moving to be more aggressive in reuniting people with the money they have left unclaimed in forgotten accounts and safe deposit boxes, the state's new treasurer announced today he would circulate to government and other groups lists of those who are owed the money.

Treasurer Steven Grossman

"My goal is to reunite the people of Massachusetts with the money that is owed to them and this partnership program is just one of the innovative ways we will be going about doing that," he said in a statement.

In the first of the programs, Grossman's office will provide a CD to all members of the Legislature containing the contact information of all constituents in their districts who have cash accounts of more than $500 or stock accounts holding more than 50 shares that have been turned over to the treasury's Unclaimed Property Division within the past five years.

Boston.com political editor Glen Johnson talks about President Obama's visit to Boston today.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Mayor Thomas M. Menino tried to walk a fine line today in testimony on Beacon Hill, warning a legislative committee of the dire consequences of skyrocketing municipal health care costs but insisting that organized labor needed a seat at the table.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino

"Cities and towns might as well change the name of our government buildings from City Hall to City Health Insurance," Menino said, according to a copy of his prepared remarks. "Because that’s the only service we will be able to provide."

But the mayor of the state's largest city also criticized efforts in other states such as Wisconsin to significantly weaken collective bargaining by public employees. Not letting labor have a "seat at the table," Menino said, would hurt the middle class and cause economic disparities to grow.

"At the opposite end of the spectrum, others are pushing an anti- labor agenda cloaked in the responsibility of balancing a budget," Menino said. "These extreme choices are false ones. Our country can strike the right balance and Massachusetts can lead the way. Middle-class work with decent benefits – on the one hand – and innovation and progress – on the other – are not mutually exclusive. We can be fair and flexible, if we work together."

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

HERZLIYA, Israel -- Exhaustion and jet lag are the untold stories of foreign trade missions.

Almost everyone who has come with Governor Deval Patrick to Israel this week has shown signs of hitting the wall, with few people getting more than five or six hours of sleep between 13-hour days. There are many bloodshot eyes, several trips to the espresso machine, and even a few micro-sleeps during meetings.

Patrick probably has it the worst. It's his job to crisscross the greater Tel Aviv area by armored car to deliver sales pitches to Israeli entrepreneurs meeting with separate groups of Massachusetts business executives.

At most stops, he has also taken questions from businesspeople wondering why they shouldn’t take their startup firms to Silicon Valley instead of Cambridge, or asking what tax incentives are available in Massachusetts.

By Jenna Duncan, Globe Correspondent

The owner of Motor Sports Inc. in Somerville is facing charges that he enhanced the damage to five vehicles to increase the insurance claims, State Police said.

Michael Block, 38 of Natick was arrested Friday on several counts of insurance fraud, malicious destruction of property, forgery, uttering, and larceny, State Police said in a statement.

The investigation, which is ongoing, began eight months ago with information obtained by Cambridge police. The investigation combined efforts of the Governor’s Auto Theft Strike Force; Cambridge, Somerville, and Lynn police; the National Insurance Crime Bureau; and MetLife Auto and Home.

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

Sunny skies are forecast today and Wednesday with the potential for increased flooding at the end of the week, fueled by a rainstorm, according to the National Weather Service.

"We start looking for flooding to be a problem for Thursday into Friday, north and west of the city, places that have a decent snowpack," Charlie Foley, a meteorologist for the weather service, said today.

The weather service this morning canceled a flood warning for the Shawsheen River, but left the flood warning intact for the Charles River in Dover and the Assabet River in Maynard, both of which are expected to continue rising today.

“The impact will be minimal. It will be more of an inconvenience,” Foley said.

TEL AVIV - Governor Deval Patrick spoke with Diane Hessan, president of Communispace Corp. of Watertown, as the Patrick entourage began a five-day trade mission to Israel. It is Patrick's first trip to Israel.

Jonathan Wiggs / Globe Staff

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick earned a mention in the Jerusalem Post this morning — as part of the “Kraft delegation” to Israel.

The article appeared in the English-language newspaper’s sports section, under
the headline, “Krafts join Mass. Governor on Israel mission.”

The article was about the New England Patriots owner, Robert Kraft, a frequent visitor and large investor in the country, and his wife, Myra, a major philanthropist in Israel. Read more at the Political Intelligence blog.

By Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff

After a winter of repeated commuter rail failures and sporadic subway and bus woes, state lawmakers say they are preparing to launch a probe into the delays and disruptions.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers, as well as the state's top transportation official, said today that they believe it is time for the Legislature to hold hearings on the public transit problems, which have infuriated commuters throughout the region.

All four Senate Republicans released a letter decrying what they called the "many service delays, outages and signal problems" that have hampered the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in recent months. They called reliable service on the T, which provides more than 1 million rides a day, "essential to the economy and quality of life of the Commonwealth."

By Jenna Duncan, Katherine Landergan, and Stewart Bishop, Globe Correspondents

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings for parts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut today due to a combination of snow melt and a rainy weekend pushing some rivers toward flood stage.

Rebecca Gould, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton, said a flood warning was in effect for all of Worcester County and for several rivers in the Bay State.

The weather service is urging residents along the Nashua, Sudbury, Assabet, Westfield, Shawsheen and Squannacook rivers to keep an eye on the river heights and to keep children away from the river and any nearby culverts.

By Jenna Duncan, Globe Correspondent

President Obama declared today that the swirling nor'easter that blanketed the state with snow on Jan. 11 and 12 was a major disaster. The declaration makes state and local governments eligible for reimbursement of 75 percent of their costs of battling the storm, officials said.

The aid will cover a range of spending, including equipment and manpower for snowplowing, salting, and sanding. The aid be available in Berkshire, Essex, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, and Suffolk counties. Only those counties are eligible because the snowfall met or exceeded their record snowfalls, said Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

By Andrea Estes and Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

A co-defendant in former House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi's federal corruption case will plead guilty Tuesday to conspiracy, extortion, and mail and wire fraud and must testify against DiMasi and the others if requested, according to a plea agreement made public today.

Joseph P. Lally Jr., the salesman who sold the state the two multimillion-dollar software contracts at the center of the case, will agree to cooperate in exchange for a reduced sentence -- two to three years in prison and two years of probation, the agreement filed in US District Court in Boston says.

Boston attorney Robert Goldstein, who represents Lally, said, "This is a difficult decision for any client, but Mr. Lally believed this was the best decision for himself and his family. Mr. Lally looks forward to putting these matters behind him, and beginning anew."

A copy of Lally's plea agreement can be found here.

Goldstein declined to comment on what testimony Lally will offer against DiMasi and his other co-defendants, including Richard D. Vitale, or what impact his cooperation might have on the case.

DiMasi attorney Thomas Kiley said his client still intends to go to trial, currently scheduled for April 27.

By pleading guilty, Kiley said, Lally will have to contradict the story he has told since he was indicted with the others in June 2009.

"Joe has been described to me on numerous occasions as the consummate salesman. He obviously felt an awful lot of pressure to give up on a defense we all believe in,'' Kiley said. "I believed what I heard from him and his counsel. It will be interesting to see if he can sell the polar opposite to the government and the jury.''

By Emily Sweeney and Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

PEABODY – Moments after he allegedly drove his SUV into the two vehicles stopped in the breakdown lane on Route 1 - killing one man and injuring a 6-year old – William J. Halpin III was asked by State Police if he had any alcohol on him.

According to State Police, Halpin was spotted tossing marijuana near the scene of the Friday night crash on Route 1 northbound in Lynnfield, a crash that killed Victor Vargas, 42, a taxi driver from Lynn and father of two, and also injured a 6-year-old boy who was sitting in the second car allegedly struck by Halpin.

Halpin appeared in Peabody District Court today where he pleaded not guilty to motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence of drugs. Halpin has previously been convicted of drunken driving following a 2007 crash in Easton, according to Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett’s office and Registry of Motor Vehicle records.

Halpin, who swayed from side to side while standing handcuffed in the prisoner’s dock in Peabody District Court today, was ordered held on $25,000 cash bail.

Halpin is the son of William J. Halpin Jr., chief executive of the South Boston Community Health Center. Through a family spokesman, who identified himself as Conor Yunits, the Halpin family released a statement at the courthouse today.

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff

Boston police are investigating a double shooting in Roxbury this afternoon.

Police said two men in their 20s were shot at about 4:15 p.m. in the 2900 block of Washington Street, an area near the Jamaica Plain line and Egleston Square.

The two men were found about a block apart. One man was shot in the arm; the other was shot in the back. Both were transported to Boston Medical Center and were expected to survive, said David Estrada, a police spokesman.

Authorities blocked off a section of Washington Street as they investigated, and they cordoned off a yellow three-story house with police tape.

By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff

Remember the scene in "The Social Network" where preppy twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss get the brushoff from then-Harvard President Larry Summers after complaining their idea for Facebook had been stolen? Summers said today that the scene was a pretty fair rendering.

“I am told that the Winklevii say that the movie is wrong -- ‘Larry Summers wasn’t nearly as nice to us as was portrayed of him in the movie.’ I’ve read somewhere on occasion that people think I can be arrogant. And, uh, I can’t imagine why. And if that is so, I probably was on that occasion. So making adjustments for cinematic license -- the fact that I surely did not tell anyone to punch me in the face and the like -- I would say the movie was fairly accurate,” Summers, Harvard’s colorful former president, said today in response to a question from the audience at a luncheon hosted by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

Summers is back in town after two years serving as President Obama’s director of the National Economic Council. Set to begin teaching two courses later this semester, he addressed a roomful of executives at the Boston Harbor Hotel. Economic policies aside, what everyone wanted to know from the former Treasury secretary was how he felt about his portrayal in the Oscar-winning film.

By Globe Staff

A firearm was found off the side of a ramp to the Southeast Expressway in Dorchester, police said.

Authorities said a state trooper and an MBTA Transit Police officer located the firearm about 3:15 p.m. near the ramp from Freeport Street to Interstate 93 southbound.

The State Police crime scene and ballistics units have responded to recover the weapon, State Police said.

The State Police gang unit will also try to determine whether the firearm was related to any gang activity in the area, police said.

By Globe Staff

State officials said today they were offering a second free statewide smoking cessation program for veterans and their families.

Under the program, Massachusetts veterans and their family members can call the Massachusetts Smokers Helpline at 1-800-Quit NOW (1-800-784-8669) or go to www.makesmokinghistory.org/veterans to receive free telephone support and a two-week supply of nicotine patches.

State officials said the smoking rate among veterans is higher than the state average, and smoking is the No. 1 cause of preventable death and disease in the state, accounting for more than $4.3 billion in health care costs annually.

Business reporter Erin Ailworth talks about the sudden jump in gasoline prices this week.

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

A 16-month-old boy fell out of a second-floor window at a Quality Inn in Brockton this morning but suffered no serious injuries, police said.

The mother of the child reported that she was in the room with her back turned, when her child climbed atop a pile of clothes next to the window. When she spotted her boy, it was too late.

The boy fell head-first, police said, onto a concrete surface in the backyard of the hotel on Belmonst Street. He took a plunge of approximately 12 feet.

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Robert J. Haynes, who frequently rails about CEO pay, was on the defensive today, answering questions about his decision to accept $72,700 as payment for sitting on the board of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, a major nonprofit insurer.

Haynes was also pressed about the board’s decision to give $8.6 million in compensation to Cleve L. Killingsworth, the chief executive of Blue Cross, who resigned abruptly last year. The payment is now being investigated by Attorney General Martha Coakley.

Haynes initially walked away from reporters who wanted to question him about the issue after a State House hearing in which unions offered a plan to cut health care costs. But he stopped briefly after reporters caught up with him in a hallway.

By David Abel, Globe Staff

PLYMOUTH -- The chief probation officer at Taunton District Court, whose name surfaced in the recent scandal surrounding probation department hiring and promotions, was arraigned this morning on charges of abusing his girlfriend.

A police report said that Joseph W. Dooley, 57, of Taunton was taken into custody shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday when police responded to reports of a domestic violence incident at his home.

The report said both Dooley and his girlfriend appeared intoxicated and were arguing.

The 50-year-old woman told police that she broke Dooley's cellphone during an argument. She said that, as the argument intensified, she tried to use her cellphone to call police. But Dooley kept trying to take the cellphone from her hand.

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

Public employee unions in Massachusetts entered a caustic nationwide debate today by offering their own plan to cut local health care costs, saying their members will pay more to help cities and towns save money, but will not give up their collective bargaining rights.

The unions offered their plan one day before state lawmakers hold a hearing on a similar plan that Governor Deval Patrick introduced in January. The unions said they do not view their plan as a rival to the governor’s bill, but as a way to help him flesh out the details.

“We want to be part of the solution,” said Robert J. Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, who joined union leaders representing teachers, firefighters, and other public workers at a State House press conference.

The union plan would save $120 million – the same as the governor’s plan, the union officials said. But unlike the governor’s plan, $60 million from those savings would be directed into workers’ health care accounts for one year, to help offset the high cost of medical care for public employees with chronic diseases.

By Aaron Lester, Globe Correspondent

Classes will be held as usual tomorrow morning at Wellesley High School after a boiler mishap caused 400 gallons of heating oil to leak from an outdoor tank. Some of the oil reached wetlands and waterways leading to the Charles River.

A “minor sheen” of oil could be seen in a Charles River tributary in the aftermath of the spill, according to Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Ed Colletta.

A pressure release valve blew on an external line from an oil storage tank coming into the school, spilling oil onto the boiler room floor, according to Wellesley Fire Captain Jim Dennehy.

The oil leaked from at least one drain on the boiler room floor into a nearby pond. From there the oil spilled into Fuller Brook, which runs through Nehoidan Country Club, toward the Charles River.

By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff and Emma Stickgold, Globe Correspondent

LAWRENCE -- A roughly five-hour standoff ended early this evening in Lawrence when police officers led two men out of a liquor store they had allegedly tried to rob earlier in the day, prompting cheers from onlookers who had seen the store's popular owner and an employee exit the building hours earlier with head wounds.

The cheers erupted at about 5:30 p.m. as two men emerged from McCann's Liquors on South Union Street.

Lawrence police said they had found the two men inside a small crawl space in an apartment above the store and they did not resist arrest.

The suspects had tried to rob the store shortly after noon, then fled upstairs, police said.

"They were trying to wait us out," Police Chief John Romero told reporters tonight at the scene.

By Miriam Valverde, Globe Correspondent

Boston got a taste of spring today as temperatures reached 61 degrees but rain is expected to move in tonight and a flood watch is effect into Monday morning.

One to 2 inches of rain is expected in the Boston area and as much as 3 inches in Western Massachusetts, according to a meteorologist from the National Weather Service in Taunton.

“We are watching the rivers and streams areas,” said meteorologist Rebecca Gould.

The heavy rain should last through early Monday afternoon, Gould said. Temperatures are expected to drop into the 40s tonight. Monday morning should be warm with temperatures in the mid-40s, but the day will gradually cool off with temperatures dropping into the 30s by the evening rush hour and into the 20s at night.

A winter weather advisory for freezing rain has been issued for the western part of the state until early Monday morning and a flood warning is in effect around the Blackstone River area in Northbridge, Gould said.

Hundreds of people wandered through the Boston Common today enjoying the warm weather.

Flaviane Coelho, 32, of Charlestown was playing Frisbee with two other friends in front of the State House.

“This makes me happy,” Coelho said. “This weather gives you a good perspective of life.”

Elisa Reghitto, 30, of Brookline said she had been outdoors since early in the morning along with her 7-year-old sister, Kiera, and her 9-year-old brother, Anthony.

“It’s been such a cold, long winter,” Reghitto said, watching her siblings play at the Tadpole Playground on the Common. “It’s nice to have days like this to carry us over.”

No rain is expected for Tuesday or Wednesday. Temperatures are forecast to be below normal for this time of year at 41 or 42 degrees, Gould said.

Rain is expected to return Thursday and Friday, along with some warm weather, she said.

By Stewart Bishop, Globe Correspondent

A body was found on MBTA property behind a Somerville liquor store earlier today, officials said.

MBTA spokeswoman Lydia Rivera said Cambridge police discovered the man behind SavMor Spirits on McGrath Highway near the commuter rail tracks and adjacent to the MBTA commuter rail storage track off of Water Street in Cambridge at about 2:40 p.m.

Twenty minutes later, emergency medical personnel from the Cambridge Fire Department confirmed the man, described as a white male in his early forties, was deceased, Rivera said.

T police were investigating and the State Medical Examiners Office and the Middlesex District Attorney's Office have been notified, Rivera said.

No further information about the circumstances of the man's death were immediately available.

David Mark

By Stewart Bishop, Globe Correspondent

As authorities continue to search for a missing man from Albany, N.Y., last seen in a Fenway bar Wednesday, his parents voiced desperation and concern over his likely deteriorating health and pleaded with the public for help in finding their lost son.

David Mark, 24, who suffers from diabetes, left home after breakfast Wednesday morning, possibly with the intention of visiting his sister in Newton, said his father, Robert Mark, of Albany in a phone interview this morning. His car was found on Middlesex Road near his sister's home later that day.

Mark said his son has type 1 diabetes and does not have enough insulin to treat himself properly, which could cause him to become very disoriented. He said his son may soon be in danger of going into a coma.

"At this point, he could be in a very confused state, because he had very little insulin with him," Mark said. "He needs emergency care, he needs an ambulance."

In addition, Mark said David has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, that affects social interaction.

By Miriam Valverde, Globe Correspondent

The FBI, State Police, and local police are joining transportation authorities this morning at Bowdoin Station on the MBTA Blue Line to perform a mock emergency response exercise that will last more than five hours.

According to Lydia Rivera, MBTA spokeswoman, the exercise will have public safety and transportation personnel working together through an emergency scenario inside the station.

The scenario will test the decision-making and communication efficiency between the respective authorities, Rivera said. The Boston Fire Department, Boston Emergency Medical Services, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, and MassDot will also be participating.

The exercise will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and it is not expected to affect transportation or public safety, Rivera said in a statement.

Agencies' vehicles, personnel, and equipment will be present throughout the area. There will be travel restrictions along New Chardon, New Sudbury and Cambridge streets, said Rivera.

By Emma Stickgold, Globe Correspondent

No need for the down coats and snowboots this weekend as temperatures are expected to climb into the upper 40s today and continue climbing Sunday into the mid-50s, according to the National Weather Service.

Southerly winds are contributing to the rising temperatures, said meteorologist Kim Buttrick of the National Weather Service, making it “unseasonably warm.”

Rain may move in to the area tonight and temperatures are expected to dip only slightly, into the low 40s. Sunday night rain is likely, she said.

“By Monday and Tuesday, we’ll be back to more normal temperatures,” Buttrick said, in the low 40s.

By Neal J. Riley, Globe Correspondent

Newton police are seeking the public’s help in trying to locate an Albany, N.Y., man with diabetes who has been missing since Wednesday.

David Mark, 24, left home on Wednesday and his family is concerned that he does not have insulin with him needed to treat his type-1 diabetes, Newton police Lieutenant Bruce Apotheker said. He said Mark is 5-feet-5 and weighs about 150 pounds, and has dark hair and facial hair. He was last seen wearing a black leather waist jacket, a tan knit shirt with no collar, and black and gray Adidas sneakers, Apotheker said.

“Because of his diabetes he may be in a confused state,” Apotheker said. “We are asking for the public’s help in locating David.”

Mark’s vehicle was found on Middlesex Road in Newton on Wednesday, and Apotheker says he has returned to the vehicle at least once since then.

Anyone who thinks they have seen Mark is asked to contact Newton police at 617-796-2100.

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick today announced four nominees to the state Parole Board, as he completes the dramatic transformation of a panel that has been in turmoil since December, when a parolee with a history of violence shot and killed a Woburn police officer.

If approved by the Governor's Council, the nominees would reshape the panel with far more prosecutors and former court officials than defense lawyers, as Patrick seeks to rebuild confidence in the parole process.

Patrick has already removed five board members who had voted in 2008 to release the parolee, Domenic Cinelli. He has installed a veteran prosecutor, Joshua Wall, to serve as the board's new chairman. And he has introduced legislation that would tighten a variety of eligibility requirements for parole.

Today, he sought to complete the overhaul, by moving to fill the four remaining vacancies on the board with Charlene M. Bonner, a forensic psychologist whose work includes competency evaluations in Plymouth County courts; Lucy M. Soto-Abbe, a 17-year victim advocate in the Hampden district attorney's office; John M. Bocon, a former chief officer in the federal probation office in Boston, and Ina R. Howard-Hogan, a former state and county prosecutor who has served as the Parole Board's general counsel since January 2009.

Business reporter Robert Weisman talks about the announcement today that Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan called off health care talks.

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick spent about an hour today talking with at-risk teens and the staff at Roca, a nonprofit anti-violence agency.

Patrick's 2012 budget proposal calls for spending $12.5 million on youth anti-violence and after-school programs.

"Frankly, I am not convinced that there is as comprehensive a strategy for dealing with youth violence as we need, and one of the reasons I'm here at Roca is to see how they're doing it," Patrick said before the closed-door session. "They've done some wonderful things."

Roca has job training, teen parenting, GED, and other programs for participants, and is funded primarily through public grants.

Storeowner Thach spoke to reporter Brian Ballou and played him the videotape of the incident in an interview on Tuesday.

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

The man who was bashed by a storeowner with a metal rod when he tried to rob a Lynn bakery this week was no stranger to the place: He had been convicted of robbing the same store in 2008.

"I can't believe he came back here,'' said Bosolakhana Thach, owner of Arnold's Bakery Outlet on Lewis Street, in a telephone interview today from the store.

Joseph Dominic James, 24, was arraigned in Lynn District Court this afternoon on a charge of armed robbery and ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing. His attorney entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

The owner of a schoolbus company that transports students in Revere, Chelsea, and East Boston is facing charges that he sexually molested one of his passengers, a 5-year-old Everett girl, authorities said today.

Revere Police Department

Sergio Lara

According to prosecutors and Revere police, Lara allegedly sexually assaulted the girl on Tuesday while he was transporting her home from school. The girl reported the attack to her mother, who rushed the child to an area hospital and summoned police.

FBI, Winthrop police

Shown are two surveillance camera photos taken during bank robberies in Everett and Winthrop that authorities suspect were committed by the same person. On the left is an image of the man who robbed an Everett bank and left behind a fake pipe bomb. On the right is the man who robbed a Winthrop bank.

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

A Bank of America branch in Winthrop was robbed today by a man who pulled out a piece of pipe and claimed it was bomb as he ordered a teller to hand over cash, police said. He fled with the cash -- and the pipe, law enforcement officials said.

No one was injured.

Law enforcement officials believe the man is the same person who robbed a branch of the East Boston Savings Bank in Everett Thursday while claiming to have a pipe bomb. In the Everett incident, the State Police bomb squad investigated the device the man left behind and discovered it was fake.

By Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff

The former doctor and nurse practitioner who were charged with causing the overdose deaths of six people by prescribing them medically unnecessary painkillers will be allowed to remain free pending trial, under an order issued in federal court today.

Joseph P. Zolot, 61, who ran an office in Needham, and his former nurse Lisa M. Pliner, 51, of Bedford, will leave federal court today after posting $500,000 secured bond. Pliner used her home in Bedford, valued at about $500,000, to secure the bond, and friends and relatives of Zolot posted their homes to secure his $500,000 bond.

The two were charged in a sweeping indictment Thursday alleging that they conspired to distribute medically unnecessary painkillers such as methadone, oxycodone and fentanyl to patients, causing the deaths of at least six. According to prosecutors, the doctor and nurse knew their patients were either abusing the drugs or selling them but still handed out the prescriptions for a profit.

Lawyers for both Zolot and Pliner defended their clients, saying they properly cared for their patients.

Zolot surrendered his medical license in 2007. Pliner has surrendered her nurse practitioner license, which allowed her to prescribe painkillers under Zolot’s oversight, but she still has an active nurse’s license.

About a dozen of their friends and family members attended a court hearing today to show their support.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

The average annual water and sewer bill in the communities served by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority rose 4.6 percent in 2010 from $1,199 to $1,254, according to a new survey by the MWRA Advisory Board, the group that watchdogs the authority on behalf of member communities.

The retail rate increase was the lowest in more than nine years, the board said in a statement, and followed the MWRA issuing a 1.49 percent wholesale rate increase, the lowest in 15 years.

The figures show that "if we can control MWRA increases, it helps control the retail rate," said Joseph Favaloro, executive director of the advisory board.

The board surveyed prices in communities and then used the industry standard of 90,000 gallons of annual usage to calculate the average bills.

View Larger Map

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

Two men were killed this morning in a crash involving four vehicles on Route 85 in Hudson, State Police said.

The crash took place on Route 85 near the intersection with Fitchburg Street around 8:30 a.m.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

The operator of the MBTA commuter rail system blamed last night’s nightmare commute for several hundred Fitchburg-bound riders on an electronic circuit board that failed on a generally reliable locomotive.

Scott Farmelant, spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad, said this morning that technicians discovered the cause of the locomotive’s failure when the locomotive was examined in the Somerville train yard overnight.

He said the locomotive was built in 1974 and then underwent an upgrade in 1997. The MBCR is still searching for an explanation for the failure of the electronic board that helps control the massive machine, he said.

Farmelant said MBCR employees will be at North Station this evening handing out vouchers to several hundred people who were on board two trains – the 429 and the 431 – whose 90-minute commute stretched to more than three hours last night.

If you were on board the Fitchburg-bound trains last night, please share your experience and email us at localnews@globe.com

By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

Mild weather is forecast for today with rain showers and more seasonable temperatures expected during the weekend, according to the National Weather Service in Taunton.

Highs today will be in the mid-30s for the metropolitan area as well as for the Cape and Islands, the weather service reports. In western Massachusetts, temperatures will be a bit cooler, with highs in the lower 30s. Lows tonight are expected to only drop to the low 20s.

“We had a pretty cold start this morning,” said Charlie Foley, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Taunton. “But as the winds turn south, milder air will begin to filter in.”

Skies on Saturday will be mostly cloudy, with high temperatures in the 40s. There is also a slight chance of rain Saturday night, Foley said.

On Sunday, it is expected to rain, with temperatures in the lower 40s. Rain showers will continue Sunday night into Monday, with highs for Monday in the lower 40s.

By Globe Staff

Authorities are investigating an overnight stabbing in Chelsea that left one man dead and another injured, according to the Suffolk district attorney’s office.

Police responded to a call of a disturbance in the area of 213 Everett Ave. just before 1 a.m. and found one man suffering from stab wounds. He was brought to a nearby hospital and was pronounced dead. A second man was found nearby, and has survived his injuries. The extent of his injuries was not immediately clear.

The nature of the stabbings remains under investigation.

By Globe staff

Gloucester firefighters have contained a three-alarm fire in a building on Pleasant Street.