Man who fell into lion’s den has sore back

A Massachusetts lawmaker who purchased tax-free liquor in New Hampshire after voting for a 6.25 percent tax on alcohol in his home state said he was not trying to evade taxes. Michael J. Rodrigues, a Westport Democrat, said he will pay the Massachusetts sales tax on the three bottles of hard liquor and two bottles of wine he and his wife bought. He said he bought the alcohol during a bathroom break as he and his wife returned from a getaway last weekend. Someone noticed his “House 29’’ license plates and alerted the Boston Herald. (AP)

Construction workers installing support for a new deck at a home in Cambridge dug up the concrete floor of a shed and found a skeleton buried there with a gun that appears to be about 100 years old. Frank Pasquarello, police spokesman, said the items, found yesterday afternoon, may be from a market on the property. Forensics examinations are expected to reveal the age and gender of the skeletal remains found at the 149-year-old home. Homeowner Rosalie Foster said the discovery was “unbelievable at first’’ and a little shocking. (AP)

A deer has hurt another 4-year-old girl at Southwick’s Zoo. The child suffered a minor laceration on her right cheek after she was struck by a deer antler yesterday afternoon, according to The Telegram & Gazette. She was taken by ambulance to Milford Regional Medical Center and was reported to be in good condition. Last month, a startled deer jumped and kicked a 4-year-old girl in the face at the zoo, bruising her right cheek. That incident occurred as a group of children were walking through the zoo’s 35-acre deer forest. The deer exhibit had been open for more than 15 years without any problems. Southwick’s Zoo is one of the largest in New England. (AP)

Officials at a North Carolina museum have returned a Civil War flag to the Rhode Island National Guard in the hopes the gesture will be reciprocated. The North Carolina Museum of History said yesterday that it has returned a silk, V-shaped flag belonging to Company L of the First Rhode Island Cavalry. The flag was captured by the Fifth North Carolina Cavalry in June 1863 and donated to the museum in the early 1900s. Curator Tom Belton said the museum is hoping Rhode Island state officials will return a North Carolina flag captured by Rhode Island soldiers at New Bern in March 1862. The North Carolina Museum of History said it has the third-largest Confederate flag collection in the world. (AP)

A judge has denied a former Massachusetts police chief’s motion to dismiss some charges he is facing in connection with the death of an 8-year-old boy at a gun show. Edward Fleury, who resigned as Pelham’s chief in March, is charged with manslaughter and four counts of furnishing a machine gun to a minor in connection with the death of Christopher Bizilj of Ashford, Conn. Bizilj lost control of an Uzi submachine gun and shot himself during a gun expo at Westfield Sportsman’s Club in October. Fleury promoted the event. Lawyers contend Fleury shouldn’t be charged with furnishing the gun because he did not hand it to the boy. The judge said there was ample evidence to support “aiding and abetting under the furnishing statute.’’ (AP)