By Jeannie Nuss, Globe Correspondent

Anna Alicenne and Emily -- all 2 1/2 -- plunked down by a banquet table next to their mother and more than 400 other twins, triplets, siblings, and parents at the holiday party.

“We hear the comment, ‘You have your hands full,’ all the time,” said their mother, Sarah Gay, of Mannsfield.

The party, thrown for families with twins and triplets at the Shaw's Center in Brockton, gave families to pose for photos with Santa.

“You’ve got two screaming, one happy, one sleeping, one not, one ‘I got to pee,’” said Caitlin Buron, a volunteer with the group that threw the party, Keeping Pace with Multiple Miracles, and the mother of a 3, 5, and 7-year-old -- but no twins or triplets.

Moms and dads said the annual event provides a much-needed chance to relax -- in a room with hundreds of screaming children.

“It’s a place where I know my kids are safe,” said 30-year-old Kathleen Mann, of Quincy. “I don’t have to be looking over my shoulder the whole time.”

Mann’s two sets of twins, 2-year-olds Caroline and Taylor and 3-year-olds Cameron and Paige bounced on stuffed rocking horses. The three girls, dressed in matching black and white flowery dresses, took bathroom breaks in shifts with their aunt.

Youngsters flocked to a dance floor to boogie to tunes like K.C. & the Sunshine Band’s “That's the Way I Like It” and “Funkytown” by the Lipps, Inc. A DJ set off a bubble machine as dozens of kids squealed and jumped to catch the shiniest ones.

The party provided refuge from the questions parents of twins and triplets often get.

“No one’s gonna say, ‘Oh my God. How do you do it?’ It’s like you’re anonymous,” said Donna Baker, co-founder of Keeping Pace with Multiple Miracles and mother of 15-year-old triplets and a 19-year-old.

By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff

First came Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, where Boston University opened a dental school in 2008. Now, if all goes well, the university may set up outposts in Abu Dhabi and in India.

India’s minister of human resource development met recently with Robert Brown, BU president, and other university officials to discuss the possibility of building at least one campus in India. During his trip, thought to be the first time an Indian minister of state has traveled to the United States to seek higher education partners, Kapil Sibal also met with Harvard, Yale, Duke, and Georgetown.

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By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent

A 63-year-old man was struck and killed by a commuter rail train Saturday afternoon as he crossed a designated crosswalk at the Newburyport Station, transit officials said today.

Richard Witkiewicz was crossing on the side of the Newburyport train station located in the town of Newbury at about 5:30 p.m. when he was struck by outbound train, according to MBTA spokeswoman Lydia Rivera. The train had left Boston at 4:30 p.m.

Rivera said the incident appears to be an accident. State, local, and transit police are investigating.

By Globe Staff

A 51-year-old escapee from a state prison in Bridgewater remained at large Saturday, while Department of Correction officials were still unable to explain how he broke out of the facility sometime late Friday.

State Police and apprehension teams from the Department of Correction continued to search for Manson Brown, who was serving a 10-year sentence for home invasion and armed robbery, and was indicted on new charges of rape just a week ago.

Authorities describe Brown as a 5-foot-8, 145-pound African-American male who was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and gray sweatpants.

Brown was indicted by Middlesex county authorities Nov. 20 for the 1996 home invasion and rape of a Cambridge woman, after his DNA sample stored in a law enforcement database matched evidence at the crime scene.

Brown was in the minimum security section of the Bridgewater Correctional Complex at the time of his escape, and prison authorities said they were not notified of the new charges filed against him.

He previously escaped state custody twice in the early 1980s while serving an earlier sentence for armed robbery, said Christopher Fallon, a Department of Correction spokesman.

Officials asked anyone who spots a man matching Brown’s description to call 911 immediately, cautioning the public not to approach him.

Road closures and other transportation advisories for the week of Nov. 29:

Two to three lanes of Interstate 93 South will be closed approaching and through downtown Monday through Thursday from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Two to three lanes of I-93 North through downtown and Charlestown will be closed Monday through Friday from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

I-93 North Exit 23 to Government Center will be closed and detoured Monday and Tuesday from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

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By Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff

METHUEN – There is one thing that Mary Jo Coady wants to make clear to anyone who hears about her, reads about her, or tries to dismiss her – she is not trying to convince anyone that the bottom of her steam iron truly carries the face of Jesus Christ.

But the image, which bears a striking likeness to popular depictions of Jesus Christ, has had a profound affect on Coady. After a challenging past two years in which her faith waned, Coady, who was raised Catholic, said she feels spiritually uplifted by the startling depiction.

“I’m not telling people they have to see what I see, or believe what I believe,’’ Coady told the Globe today. “They are entitled to their opinion. There’s nothing wrong with that.’’

She added, “but I also know that there are people out there like me that believe and have faith. And this is a good thing.’’

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Tina Cavanaugh (Family photo via Gloucester Police)

By Michaela Stanelun and Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondents

A Gloucester woman missing for more than 24 hours was found near her home today after spending a night in the woods, police said.

“All I can say is that she’s been located and she’s being treated medically,” said Gloucester police officer John Foote.

Tina Cavanaugh, 42, left her home at 4 p.m. yesterday after a small dispute following Thanksgiving dinner, police said. She was found in West Gloucester today at about 4:30 p.m., Foote said.

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By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

Peace activists and Boston area law enforcement officials today launched the third annual Season of Peace, the winter campaign that calls on gangs in the city to put down their guns and agree to a "ceasefire" between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.

For the next five weeks, police, ministers, and any young people they can recruit to help will be handing out cards promoting the campaign in schools, in barber shops, beauty salons and convenience stores.

The MBTA has agreed to set up posters advertising the campaign on the backs of 200 city buses.

"It's important to send this message to the street level because that's where the violence occurs," said the Rev. Jeffrey Brown, executive director of the Boston TenPoint Coalition, which is organizing the campaign.

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By Brian Benson, Globe Correspondent

An Arlington Catholic High School football player who allegedly head-butted an opponent in a game pled not guilty at his arraignment today in Cambridge District Court.

James LaShoto, 17, faces an assault and battery charge stemming from the Sept. 19 incident in which LaShoto allegedly hit Abington High School player Daniel Curtin after Curtin’s helmet was knocked off.

The hit occurred after Curtin was tackled in the backfield, according to a video shot for Abington’s public access station.

Curtin could not play football for 10 days due to concussion concerns. He has played in two games since the incident, said his mother, Paula Curtin.

“We just don’t want this to happen again,” Paula Curtin said in a telephone interview today. “We hope [the legal process] is going to show someone else that if they decide to take a player’s helmet off and hit them in the head, they will be held accountable.”

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By Globe Staff

For those shoppers heading to outdoor malls, the National Weather Service has a suggestion: Dress for strong winds and steady rain.

“Rain and wind is the story of the day,’’ Kim Buttrick, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton, said today.

The rainfall that has already been dumped on greater Boston has not lead to concerns about flooding, Buttrick said. “It’s just a light and steady rain,’’ she said.

This afternoon and overnight, winds will steadily increase in speed, topping out at about 30 miles an hour in some spots, leading the NWS to issue a wind advisory.

Regardless of the kind of store Black Friday shoppers find themselves at, Buttrick said that as winds increase, anyone on the roads today may suddenly find themselves being nudged by a wind gust.

“Keep both hands on the wheel,’’ she urged drivers.

Buttrick also said that the wind gusts may bring down smaller branches, especially from trees still with leaves.

A spokesman for Mayor Menino said City Hall has not gotten any calls reporting flooding or significant wind damage in Boston this morning.

By Michael Corcoran, Globe Correspondent

BRAINTREE -- The lines of tents, space heaters, blankets, and beach chairs stretching down the rain-speckled sidewalk early today gave the gathering the air of an orderly, out-of-season camping trip.

The most anticipated shopping day of the year, Black Friday, does not technically begin at the Best Buy in Braintree until 5 a.m. But by 1 a.m., about 100 dedicated shoppers had already been waiting outside for hours, braving a light drizzle -- and the clock -- to get the season’s best deals.

Linda Rorie, from Weymouth, arrived at 6:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. More than six hours later, there she stood, firmly grasping a big umbrella near a tarp that covered several chairs and other personal items. She was 30th in line.

"This is the first time I have ever come out overnight for Black Friday,'' she said, with a hint of pride. "I am looking at the computer deals. They are really good this year.''

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Globe photo by George Rizer

Megan Lopes (center) and other burned-out residents talk with a Brockton fire official last night.

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

A fire that tore through two Brockton triple-deckers Thursday night, driving 33 residents out of their homes, was started by children jumping on a bed, fire officials said today.

“They were bouncing up and down on two mattresses and a box spring that were up against a wall where a plug was,” said Brockton Fire Lieutenant Edward Williams.

The back-and-forth motion of the mattresses abraded a transformer for a cell phone charger, Williams said. “I believe they broke the plastic apart, and that caused a short circuit that either heated up enough, or caused sparks, to catch the mattress on fire.”

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Globe staff photo by Yoon S. Byun.

Hsiang Ting Huang of Taiwan (center) and Shuai Wang of China examine the turkey at a Thanksgiving dinner hosted in the South Boston home of Tim Dwinal (left) and his wife, Sarah Weatherbee.

By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff

Sarah Weatherbee spent much of the day cooking traditional fare -- turkey, stuffing, brussel sprouts, broccoli, squash, cranberry sauce, cheesecake -- for a nontraditional guest: Someone she had never met before.

A student at the University of Massachusetts Boston who is from an Asian country whose name begins with T -- Weatherbee couldn't initially remember which one -- had answered an e-mail and asked to be matched with a local host for Thanksgiving dinner.

Weatherbee, art director and senior graphic designer at UMass Boston, had answered an e-mail herself volunteering to host a student. Her guest, it turned out, was from Taiwan, a 26-year-old graduate student named Hsiang Ting Huang, who said it was the first time she had shared a traditional Thanksgiving with an American family.

"Wow, it's so pretty," Huang exclaimed when she saw the appetizers Weatherbee had set out in her South Boston kitchen. It took a few more moments before Huang ventured to taste them, but she was soon returning for a second celery stick with cream cheese and paprika.

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By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

A fire in North Reading destroyed two unoccupied homes on Swan Pond Road this morning, North Reading fire officials said. No one was injured.

North Reading Fire Captain Barry Galvin said that when they reached 255 Swan Pond Road shortly after 6:30 a.m., the buildings were fully involved. The two buildings were an older "camp-style" house closer to Swan Pond, and a new house under construction.

"Both structures were a total loss," Galvin said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the state fire marshall's office.

By Stephanie Ebbert, Globe Staff

This may not be the season for snow, if Bob Pannuto predicted right again.

The retired National Weather Service meteorologist has studied Boston's autumn temperatures dating back to the 1870s and correlated them with seasonal snowfall averages.

Mild temperatures in October or November often usher in a winter with less-than-average snowfall, according to Pannuto.

Though October was chilly this year, temperatures this month have been about 3 degrees above normal, he said today. Taking both months into consideration, Pannuto's snowfall study predicts a 64 percent probability of below-normal snowfall for Boston this winter -- or less than the average 42 inches.

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By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

Police filed four additional charges today against a teen driver who allegedly hit a 12-year-old boy in a Lowell crosswalk last week and then rushed off to a hair appointment.

Lowell police said they charged Michelle P. Medeiros, 17, of Methuen with negligent operation of a motor vehicle, a criminal misdemeanor that carries a maximum two-year sentence in a house of corrections. They also filed three motor vehicle infractions against her, which carry a total of at least $335 in fines. No arraignment has been set.

Last week Medeiros, whose license has been revoked, was charged with leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, also a criminal misdemeanor that carries a maximum two-year sentence.

Police alleged that she sped through a busy intersection on VFW Highway on Nov. 18 and struck Kelvin Savanhmixay of Lowell, throwing him more than 20 feet.

Savanhmixay, who underwent facial reconstruction surgery that placed three metal plates under his skin, returned home last night after a week stay in the hospital, family said. But unable to eat solid food, the seventh-grader will refrain from Thanksgiving dinner.

"He’s alright. He’s a kid; he doesn’t know what to think of it all," said his stepfather, Danny Savanhmixay. "He’s just happy to be home with family and friends."

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By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

An explosion caused an early morning fire in Sandwich that destroyed a two-story home and left a male resident badly burned, Sandwich fire officials said.

Sandwich Fire Lt. Peter Pozerski said an explosion at 8 Chaucer St. was reported shortly after 4 this morning.

"When firefighters arrived, they found a two-story home fully involved, with the resident located outside with burns from the fire," Pozerski said.

Cathy Kuzava told the Cape Cod Times that her brother Joseph Kuzava suffered second-degree burns to his upper torso and was flown by medical helicopter to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. She said her brother was put on a respirator because of the heavy medication doctors administered but he is expected to survive.

Sandwich fire Capt. Timothy McMahon said the cause of the fire is under investigation, but investigators are "looking at" the water heater.

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

A State Police cruiser was hit head-on by another vehicle last night in Marshfield, sending a state trooper to the hospital, police said.

About 10:15 p.m., a vehicle carrying two people crossed the median line on Route 139 and struck the police cruiser head-on, police said. The state trooper was taken to South Shore Hospital in Weymouth with non-life threatening injuries. The driver and passenger of the other vehicle were taken to Jordan Hospital in Plymouth with minor injuries.

A third vehicle was also involved, but it was unclear how, police said.

Charges have not been filed and the crash is under investigation.

By Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff

On the eve of Thanksgiving, Stephen Pagliuca released the most pointed television ad yet of the Senate race today, calling out rivals Martha Coakley and Michael Capuano as potential obstacles to the passage of health insurance legislation.

Coakley and Capuano immediately denounced the ad, which highlights the only major policy difference among the four Democrats vying to succeed the late Edward M. Kennedy.

The ad, the first from any campaign to critique opponents by name, says Capuano and Coakley have "failed to make their commitment to pass health care reform clear," quoting a Globe editorial. In contrast, the narrator says, "We can count on Steve Pagliuca to vote for health care reform."

"This is the biggest and most important difference among the candidates, on probably the most important issue -- along with job creation -- in this campaign,'' said Will Keyser, a spokesman for Pagliuca. "And the ad couldn't be more fact-based or rooted in reality than it is."

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Bristol District Attorney's Office

The bags of marijuana looked like large pillows.

By Globe Staff

Police seized 200 pounds of marijuana, with an estimated street value of $180,000, in Dartmouth, and two men were arrested, Bristol County prosecutors said today.

The marijuana was found in the cab of a tractor-trailer Tuesday, the Bristol district attorney's office said. The location of the tractor-trailer was not released.

Ricardo Zamora, 61, and Joseph Zamora, 42, both of Wilder, Idaho, were charged with marijuana trafficking and conspiracy to violate the drug laws, prosecutors said in a statement. They were ordered held on $50,000 cash bail after being arraigned today in New Bedford District Court.