Two injured in shooting at apartment

Police are searching for two suspects who shot a 26-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman in a Chelsea apartment early yesterday morning during a crime police described as "definitely not random." Both victims, whose names were not released, were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital after police responded to a 911 call from a Bellingham Street apartment around midnight, said Chelsea police Captain Keith Houghton. The male victim, of Boston, was shot in the chest and leg and is in serious condition. The woman, who lived in the apartment, was treated for a gunshot wound to her shoulder, said Houghton, who expected her to be released yesterday. Police believe the suspects, who were described as in their 20s, waited for the victims to return home, then forced them into the apartment, said Houghton, adding there was evidence of "some sort of criminal operation."

Amid worries about the student-loan market, Senator John F. Kerry introduced legislation yesterday aimed at helping students who may have been denied loans despite having good credit. The Emergency Student Loan Liquidity Market Act would allow Federal Home Loan Banks to invest in student-loan related securities with surplus funds; allow those banks to accept student loans and student-loan related securities as collateral; and permit them to provide secured advances to originate student loans or finance student loan-related securities. A companion bill has been introduced in the House by Representative Paul Kanjorski, a Pennsylvania Democrat.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will make Boston the site of his first speech in the United States since taking office last June. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library will host what it's billing as a "major address on foreign policy" on Friday. The library will shut down to the public the day of Brown's speech. The library says it is the only speech Brown is scheduled to give during his visit to the United States. (AP)

A Castle Island construction site was briefly evacuated yesterday after a worker was taken to the hospital with chest pains and elevated carbon monoxide levels, according to the Boston Fire Department. The worker, who was part of a crew constructing a sewage overflow tunnel from Castle Island in South Boston to the area around the Bayside Exposition Center in Dorchester, became ill around 11:30 a.m., said Fire Department spokesman Steven MacDonald. The levels of carbon monoxide found in the worker's system, in addition to his chest pains, prompted the evacuation of about 20 workers from inside the tunnel for about an hour, MacDonald said. The Fire Department did not find elevated carbon monoxide levels in the tunnel, he said. Visitors to Castle Island were not in any danger, officials said.

A Haverhill chiropractor has pleaded not guilty to fraud and larceny charges for his alleged role in an auto insurance fraud ring. Prosecutors say Troy Wheelwright, 40, of Amesbury was involved in a ring that staged four car accidents between October 2002 and February 2003. Wheelwright was arraigned yesterday in Salem Superior Court on a variety of charges, including motor vehicle insurance fraud and larceny over $250. He was released on personal recognizance and ordered to surrender his passport. Six other alleged members of the ring, including another chiropractor, are scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow. Wheelwright is due in court again on May 20 for a pretrial conference. (AP)

State officials say a 34-year-old woman and an 18-month-old child were sickened by salmonella bacteria linked to recalled Malt-O-Meal cereal. Malt-O-Meal voluntarily recalled its unsweetened Puffed Rice and Puffed Wheat cereals on April 5 after finding salmonella contamination during routine testing. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health says that at least 23 people in 14 states were sickened by the same strain of salmonella found in the cereal, including the woman from Barnstable County and the toddler from Bristol County. Both are recovering. The FDA says the recalled products were distributed nationally under the Malt-O-Meal brand name and several private labels including the Hannaford and Shaw's store brands. The cereal bags had "best if used by" dates from April 8, 2008, through March 18, 2009. (AP)