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.

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.

“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.’’

Now living with her two college-age daughters, Coady turned to relatives and friends. She posted images of the iron on her Facebook account, and asked for input. Did they see what she saw in the residue on the bottom of her iron?

The answer from her relatives – including her daughters – was unanimous:They all saw Jesus Christ, Coady.recalled today. Strengthened by their support, Coady decided to share her story with others, beginning with an article published in today’s edition of the Eagle-Tribune newspaper of Lawrence.

“For me I think it happened for a reason,’’ said Coady. “I think it’s good to share it with other people.’’

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.

"She allegedly had been acting a little peculiar, and her family asked why she was acting peculiar," Mazzone said. "She got a little upset and walked outside and around the corner."

Mazzone said the family, which included her parents and siblings, believed Cavanaugh just wanted to get some air, but after 10 minutes went by and she did not return, they called the police.

"She volunteers at a local school for her son, she volunteers for the animal shelter, and she's a very happy woman," Mazzone said. "She was up at 4 a.m. getting Thanksgiving dinner prepared."

Gloucester Police, along with the Massachusetts State Police and Environmental Police, searched throughout the night, and Mazzone said the weather did not help.

Her family declined comment today.

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.

In 2007, when the peace initiative was launched, the city saw three homicides. But the following year, the numbers climbed back up to at least seven homicides for that time period. For 2008, organizers set up a link on Facebook.com. They also used Facebook to outline their peace-making efforts this summer.

This year, the number of homicides is on pace to decline more than 20 percent compared with last year at the same time. As of yesterday, there were 44 homicides this year compared with 57 at the same time last year.

At the press conference, which was held at the new Mattapan bus station on River Street, stood Ezzard Turner, the 24-year-old cousin of Soheil Turner, a 15-year-old Roxbury boy who was fatally shot waiting for a bus to school in May.

Turner, who works with troubled middle school age children in Grove Hall, said he was encouraged by the decrease in crime, but still apprehensive.

"That means some of the work we've been doing has been coming to fruition but we still have work to do," Turner said. "I would hate to see another family go through what my family is going through."

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.”

The minimum recommended penalty by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association for unsportsmanlike conduct in football is two games. But, the MIAA does not run regular season games, so it does not have the authority to impose suspensions

LaShoto was released on personal recognizance. He is due back in court Dec. 21 for a pretrial conference, according to clerk-magistrate’s office.

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.

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.''

The deal hunters said they were not worried about safety, but were focused on knocking off a few items on their Christmas lists.

At the front of the line sat a huge, square open tent. Inside, a convivial group of about 15 huddled around a space heater. They didn't all come together, but in the small world of hard-core Black Friday fans, several knew each other from previous excursions.

One woman in the group, Theresa Drosdik, of Quincy, pointed out that she waits in line because "it makes Christmas more special. I could not afford to buy my daughter a $300 camera if I didn't come here.''

Kaila Scatto, 22, of Weymouth, agreed.

"I'm pretty young and I have a 2-year-old daughter,'' Scatto said. "For me to save $300 on a computer is a really big deal.''

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.”

Six Brockton engines and three ladder companies responded to the fire, knocking it down by 11:15 p.m. Two firefighters suffered puncture wounds and cuts, but neither was hospitalized, Williams said.

Fire officials estimate $150,000 in damages to the initial building, and $50,000 to the second.

The American Red Cross housed 21 of the residents last night, including eight children, Winnie Dimock, an official with the Red Cross Massachusetts Bay chapter, said today.

Two families, from the first and third floor of 609 Warren Ave., found their own housing, Williams said. They were not at the scene when Red Cross officials responded just before 10 p.m., Dimock said.

The Red Cross took in the three families from 613 Warren Ave. and the family of eight from the unit where the fire started. That family, which includes three children and three young adults just over 18, was the only family to lose all of their belongings, Dimock said.

“We have them in a hotel for the rest of the weekend,” Dimock said. “Then we refer them to other agencies for further assistance.”

Williams, from the fire department, said there is fire damage on several floors of the buildings and heat, water, and smoke damage throughout both. The buildings will be livable again, but it could be nearly a year until then, he said.

“Both of the buildings can be salvaged,” he said, “no doubt about it.”

Below is the Globe's account of the fire originally posted Thursday night.

By Michael Corcoran, Globe Correspondent

A fast-moving fire jumped from one Brockton triple decker to a second one tonight, causing extensive damage to both buildings and leaving 18 residents, including five children, temporarily without homes on Thanksgiving.

The fire broke out just after 8 p.m., in the second floor of a three-story apartment building at 609 Warren Ave.,according to Brockton fire officials. The fire soon spread to a neighboring building at 613 Warren and continued to burn until 8:43 p.m., when firefighters extinguished the blaze.

Fire officials were not sure of the total damage late tonight but said it was “extensive.” The cause of the fire is under investigation. No initial injuries were reported.

Neighbors crowded the surrounding streets to watch as flames shot out of the top of one building.

The Red Cross was contacted to assist the 18 people who were knocked out of their homes. A Red Cross spokeswoman said the organization provides temporary housing to people who are displaced in a disaster.

Earlier in the day, a fire in North Reading also disrupted the holiday.

The blaze, caused by an electrical problem, destroyed two unoccupied homes on Swan Pond Road, North Reading fire officials said. Fire Captain Barry Galvin said that when they reached the homes on Swan Pond Road shortly after 6:30 a.m., the buildings were already engulfed.

The fire originated in a small "camp-style" house and spread to a larger house that was under construction. "Both structures were a total loss," Galvin said. The cause was an "electrical accident" in the smaller home, State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan said.

There were no injuries, officials said.

Correspondents George Rizer, Michaela Stanelun, and Abbie Ruzicka contributed to this report.

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.

"As a college student who lived and went to school away from home, I know that during Thanksgiving and holidays is really when you miss home the most," said Idil Abubakar, director of the college's Office of Student Housing.

Abubakar, a Somali by birth who was raised in Virginia and went to school at UMass Boston and UMass Amherst, has an unusual mission. The university has no dormitories, so her office helps students find off-campus apartments.

"Most universities have some kind of Thanksgiving program, but UMass Boston, because there's no residences, people just come and go," she said.

The program has provided Thanksgiving hosts for between 10 and 25 students each year since its inception. This year, only nine students participated. At a campus with nearly 15,000 students, about 5 percent of whom come from other states or countries, that's not exactly a broad subscription. But Abubakar said it's the depth of the connections that matter more than the number.

For many, the relationship doesn't end when the turkey is finished and the football games are over, she said..

"We have students, they return to same house next year, they return again and again, and then you have staff that naturally build this connection," Abubakar said.

Matching students with hosts isn't as easy as it would seem. Both the hosts and the students must submit applications, which are scrutinized by university staff for potential clashes, such as religious restrictions or allergies, not only to certain types of food but to pets that hosts may have in their homes.

For Huang, the fact that Weatherbee and her husband, Tim Dwinal, have a cat was a plus, and they corresponded about the cat, Abby, in their first e-mails to each other earlier this week.

"The first thing she asked me was 'Can I play with your cat?' " Weatherbee recalled shortly after Huang arrived today and asked after Abby.

Huang, who wants a career in finance, had brought a UMass classmate along with her, a 26-year-old from China named Shuai Wang, who wants to be a teacher. The pair, along with Weatherbee, her husband and a family friend dug into a veritable feast as they discussed winter festivals, ice-sculpting in China, and whether or not there are turkeys in Taiwan -- Wang thought no, while Huang thought yes.

Among their favorite parts of the meal, Huang and Wang said, was helping Weatherbee to prepare it. It's unclear if they were simply being polite, but both also claimed they had enjoyed their first ever brussel sprouts so much that they planned to cook them again in their off-campus apartments. "Yes, we'll cook them at home," Wang said with a audible note of sarcasm in her voice, laughing.

For her part, Weatherbee said she normally spends Thanksgiving with family in Maine but decided this year to spend the holiday at home.

"I've always wanted to have a Thanksgiving for people who don't have anywhere to go."

UMass Boston spokesman DeWayne Lehman said the school wants to build dormitories at some point in the future, but he said until then, the university is focused on building a home-like environment.

"It's programs like this that help make UMass Boston a student-centered university," he said. "Just because we don't have dorms, doesn't mean we dont want people to call UMass Boston home."

Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com.

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.

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.

Pannuto, who is now an assistant professor at Bridgewater State College, has been tracking the correlation for years. In 1978, the National Weather Digest published his paper called "A Climatic Relationship between Boston's Fall Temperature and Its Winter Snowfall," tracking the fall temperatures and winter snowfall for the past century.

He has often -- though not always -- been right, but he has been correct since 2000, when heavy snowfall followed November temperatures that were 1.2 degrees colder than normal and October was .8 degrees colder than normal. He noted that he is identifying climatic relationships, not prediciting odds with any certainty.

"I’ve been right," he said, "a lot more than wrong."

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."

“These charges are just strictly related to the motor vehicle crash,” he said. “For additional charges in regards to the actions to conceal a crime, that’s still under investigation.”

After the 2:30 p.m. accident at the intersection of Mammoth Road, Medeiros made a 3 p.m. hair appointment in Lawrence, while Savanhmixay was rushed to Lowell General Hospital and later airlifted to Boston, police said.

After the stop at the salon, Medeiros called her parents to tell them her car had been damaged in the parking lot. Her parents picked her up and filed a report with Lawrence police. The car, with a smashed windshield, was towed to Best Auto Body & Repair in Methuen, whose owner is a friend of Medeiros’s father.

Michael Murray, owner of Best Auto, said he had already seen the car when he first heard about the hit-and-run, but did not suspect it was involved. “The family told me the car was vandalized,’’ he said, adding that the family are regular customers.

The day after the accident, Medeiros, a Methuen High School senior, attended school.

The new motor vehicle infractions filed against Medeiros are: passing a vehicle stopped for a pedestrian in a crosswalk; failure to use caution when changing lanes; and operating at a speed greater than reasonable and proper.

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.

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."

The ad does not specify the underlying policy distinction that has divided the candidates: Coakley and Capuano say they would oppose final passage of a health care bill if it bars insurance payments for abortion; Pagliuca and Alan Khazei, the fourth Democrat in the race, say their support is not contingent on that provision.

Coakley, the state's attorney general, and Capuano, a US representative, today challenged the ad and reiterated their support for a health insurance overhaul.

"It’s unfortunate that Steve Pagliuca would choose to run a misleading negative ad that misrepresents Martha Coakley's position on health care," Coakley spokeswoman Alex Zaroulissaid via e-mail.

The ad shows a photo of Obama and Kennedy, as well as a clip of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi celebrating House passage of a health care bill.

A spokesman for Capuano noted that Pelosi has endorsed the congressman's bid for Senate, and attacked Pagliuca for having supported Republican Mitt Romney, then Pagliuca's boss at Bain Capital, against Kennedy in 1994.

"The new ad does have one thing right," Capuano's spokeswoman, Alison Mills, wrote in an e-mail. "We are closer than ever to passing real health care reform. And as Speaker Pelosi said earlier this month, it is Mike Capuano who has stood strongly with her to pass this historic legislation."

Pagliuca, a co-owner of the Boston Celtics, has been the heaviest advertiser in the race, producing more than a dozen TV ads thus far; through Nov. 18, he reported spending more than $5.4 million of his own money on the campaign. Keyser, his spokesman, declined to say when or how often the new ad would run, but said it would share air time with a job-creation ad for the foreseeable future.

Health care is the most important issue to voters in this election, according to a Globe poll of likely Democratic primary voters published earlier this week. In the poll, 43 percent said they would support passing a bill even with abortion restrictions, 32 percent said they would oppose the bill with restrictions, and 19 percent opposed the health care legislation either way. Six percent were undecided.

The four Democrats face off in a primary Dec. 8, as do two Republicans. The final election is Jan. 19.

Eric Moskowitz can be reached at emoskowitz@globe.com.