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BU student Guillermo Antonini took this picture of the excited crowd.

By Neal J. Riley, Globe Correspondent

At least one arrest was made and a police officer was injured outside of Newbury Comics on Newbury Street this afternoon during an autograph signing, police said.

Boston police responded to a group of individuals who were climbing a fire escape in the back of the building, Boston police spokesman David Estrada said.

Rapper and record producer Tyler, the Creator was slated to sign autographs at the store today, according to the store’s website.

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By Globe Staff

A 47-year-old Dorchester man was held on $5,000 cash bail today after being arraigned on charges that he sneaked into the women's bathroom at the Boston Public Library's main branch in Copley Square in late March and peeked at a woman in a bathroom stall.

Joseph D. Banks faces charges of lewd, wanton, and lascivious conduct; disorderly conduct; and trespassing, Suffolk County prosecutors said.

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By Stewart Bishop
Globe Correspondent

A student at an unnamed Boston college was sexually assaulted last night along the Charles River Esplanade, authorities said.

According to a statement released from the office of Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, the female student was assaulted as she sat on a park bench near Massachusetts Ave. at about 11:30 p.m.

The statement said the assailant engaged the woman in a lengthy conversation before assaulting her. She managed to escape and fled the area on foot to a friend's house before notifying police, said Jake Wark, a spokesman for Conley.

The suspect is described as a black male, about 25 to 30 years old, 6’1” to 6’2”, about 230 lbs, with short hair and a missing front tooth. He was wearing black sweatpants and a green top.

Last night's assault comes after a series of four similar unsolved sexual assaults that occurred late at night along the Esplanade and in South Boston from 2006 to 2009, the statement said.

The victims in those assaults all described the assailant as a black male, in his mid-20s to mid-30s, standing 5’8” to 5’10” tall, with a medium-to-large build and a bald head.

Public Safety officials urged that all joggers, cyclists and pedestrians who use the Esplanade at night to travel in groups, remain aware of their surroundings and to avoid one-on-one contact with strangers.

Anyone with information on the assaults is asked to contact State Police at 617-727-6780.

Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Peter Meade shared a laugh after today's announcement.

By Casey Ross and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Peter Meade was introduced this morning at City Hall as the new director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

Meade is a long-time Democratic operative and a former executive for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.

“I wanted someone who knows and loves our city, someone who could hit the ground running,’’ Menino said at a City Hall press conference today. “Peter has a keen knowledge of Boston. He’s a Dorchester guy who knows Boston inside and out.’’

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By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff

Boston disease trackers are investigating a third possible case of measles today, a week after a Back Bay office worker tested positive for the respiratory ailment.

Two other suspected cases of the potentially life-threatening illness were reported yesterday. Laboratory tests are being performed to confirm whether the three suspected cases truly have measles.

The latest possible case is a man in his 40s who has symptoms suggestive of measles, including fever, cough, runny nose, and a telltale rash.

Dr. Anita Barry, top disease tracker with the Boston Public Health Commission, said her investigators are still determining if the man had contact with the infected Back Bay worker or visited restaurants the woman frequented.

The city health agency is conducting a measles vaccination drive until 5 p.m. at the Park Square Building, 31 St. James Ave.

By Jenna Duncan, Globe Correspondent

Rather than giving one large bouquet to one woman, T.K. Skenderian took a different route on Valentine's Day – strolling through the Public Garden and giving 30 roses to 30 women he had never met.

“I just hope it makes people happy and at the same time might inspire people to bring a few other smiles out,” said Skenderian of the stunt, which was documented in an upbeat video.

HOLBROOK -- As residents started digging out their driveways in this South Shore town, a teenager living in a two-decker on South Street said he felt lucky to have awakened unscathed this morning when a massive tree snapped under the weight of snow and crashed down on the roof over his bedroom.

"All of a sudden, I hear this loud boom and then I wake up to stuff falling all over me,'' said 19-year-old Nicholas Occhipinti, standing in his second-floor bedroom, where two large holes caused by the downed tree allowed snowflakes to drift to the floor.

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By Bryan Marquard, Globe Staff

Customers calling the Arthur J. Hurley Co. in Boston often sought the guidance of Drew Hurley, who was one of the founder's grandsons and vice president of sales. So many wanted to speak with him that the blinking switchboard lights sometimes resembled a pattern of jets circling Logan Airport.

"Drew would have five calls holding for him," said his wife, Christine Fazzone, who formerly worked at the company. "We would offer the customers three different people who could help them, and they would say, 'No, I want to hold for my man, Drew.' Everybody just wanted to talk to Drew."

Worth the wait, Mr. Hurley ensured that all the customers who bought electrical wire and cable from the company ended their phone calls believing their concerns were paramount. He had a lot of practice making people feel that way.

"No matter who you were, even if you met him for 10 minutes, he made you feel special," said his sister Janne Clare of Santa Monica, Calif. "If you were the guy working across the counter at CVS, he made you feel like you owned CVS. He'd talk with people and find out things to make those relationships special. He met people on such a natural, amazing level."

Mr. Hurley, who made sure everyone knew that the two most important people in his life were his wife and daughter, whom he always called "my girls," died of a heart attack Dec. 26 while on vacation with his family, visiting his sister in Kauai, Hawaii. He was 49 and lived in Boston.

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Suzanne Kreiter / Globe Staff

Boston firefighters struggle with high snow banks and narrow streets while fighting a fire in a single family home in Bay Village. No injuries were reported.

By L. Finch, Globe Correspondent

About 120 Boston firefighters were called to Bay Village this morning to fight a smoky basement fire that extended to the upper floors of a single-family home and spread through a basement wall into a neighboring home.

The fire inside 34 Church St. was discovered shortly before 11 a.m. The close quarters of the neighborhood and the age of the home and its cramped interior made it difficult for firefighters to gain control of the flames, so four alarms were struck, said fire department spokesman Steve MacDonald.

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By L. Finch and Stewart Bishop,Globe Correspondent

Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole said all trains between Boston and New York will be canceled as of 5 p.m. today.

"Blizzard like conditions associated with a major winter storm continues to impact a large portion of east coast," Cole said in a statement. "This has caused Amtrak to make several service adjustments including the cancellation Northeast Corridor service between Boston and New York beginning later this afternoon."

In addition, Cole said all Downeaster service between Portland, Maine and Boston has also been canceled for today. 

At South Station, where all Amtrak service from Boston to Washington D.C was canceled after 5 p.m., would-be passengers bundled with their luggage waited in line to reschedule their travel plans.

Alexis Ostnioff was trying to get home to New York City after her flight out of Logan International was canceled today. She then bought an Amtrak ticket via Washington D.C. but was left stranded with the cancellation of that train.

“I tried to get an earlier flight, but then I said ‘oh I’ll just take the train,’” the 30-year-old said. “I thought it would be the best shot.”

Ostnioff, who was visiting family in Medford for Christmas was tentatively rebooked on a 5:10 train tomorrow morning. She said she wasn’t sure if she was going to stay in a hotel near the station or bother her family to pick her up for the night. She said this was the first time her holiday travel plans had hit a serious snag because of weather.

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