Local News - Boston.com

Vt. Health Co-op expanding board to win approval

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:49:48 GMT

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The non-profit Vermont Health Co-op that is hoping to offer health insurance through the federal Affordable Care Act is adding new members to its board of directors as part of an effort to get the state's top insurance regulator to reverse a decision she made last month denying the co-op permission to sell insurance to Vermonters.

Thunderstorms pound region with heavy rains, lightning; traffic slows to a crawl

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:46:31 GMT

Powerful, fast-moving thunderstorms rumbled through Massachusetts this afternoon, dumping buckets of rain, hurling pea-sized hail, and causing flash flooding concerns. The storms were lessening shortly after 5 p.m. in much of the state, but the National Weather Service warned of heavy rain approaching the southeastern portion of the state.

Bank teller pleads guilty in theft from customers

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:45:42 GMT

A bank teller accused of stealing from the CD accounts of mostly elderly customers has pleaded guilty to bank fraud. Federal prosecutors said Michelle Laudato, 35, of Farmington pleaded guilty Tuesday in US district court in Hartford. Prosecutors said Laudato used her position at a Webster Bank branch in Bristol to steal more than $178,000 from the accounts of at least 18 customers between July 2009 and June 2010.

Conn. senators still hold out hope for gun bill

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:45:16 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut's two Democratic U.S. senators say they still believe the Senate could take up a slightly retooled gun control bill later this year.

R.I. high court upholds murder conviction of parolee

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:43:43 GMT

The Rhode Island Supreme Court upheld Tuesday the murder conviction of a man in a deadly 2007 home invasion while out on parole after decades of incarceration on an earlier murder conviction. The court said the weight of evidence against Alfred ‘‘Freddie’’ Bishop was ‘‘enormous.’’ Bishop was sentenced in Rhode Island Superior Court in 2009 to life without parole for the killing of Gabriel Medeiros.

Portland, Maine, says, ‘Life’s good here’

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:41:38 GMT

Maine’s largest city is betting that visitors will come to know that ‘‘life’s good here.’’ The city launched a new marketing campaign Tuesday under the slogan: ‘‘Portland, Maine. Yes. Life’s good here.’’

Negotiators reach deal to fund new women’s prison in N.H.

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:38:47 GMT

New Hampshire House and Senate negotiators have reached a tentative agreement on a public works budget for the next two years that contains funding for a new women’s prison.

Records sought in fungal meningitis outbreak

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:37:41 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Three Tennessee clinics have received subpoenas for documents related to drugs from a Massachusetts specialty pharmacy linked to a fungal meningitis outbreak last year.

N.H. man sentenced for raping foster brother, 7, in Mass.

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:36:09 GMT

A New Hampshire man convicted of sexually assaulting his 7-year-old foster brother while they lived in Massachusetts was sentenced in Greenfield Superior Court Monday to up to 10 years in prison. Joshua Matthews, 24, was also sentenced to 10 years probation upon release.

Police in Lancaster, N.H., warn of paving scam

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:33:23 GMT

Police in Lancaster, N.H., are warning people of a likely paving scam in the area. Police are advising homeowners to be leery of anyone approaching them offering some paving work at a reduced price.

Warrants say Conn. murder suspect threatened victim

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:31:21 GMT

Police said a man charged with killing a Connecticut college student threatened to kill her after she tried to break off their relationship shortly before she disappeared in April. Arrest and search warrant affidavits were released Monday in the murder case against Jermaine Richards, 30, of Bridgeport.

Sword stolen decades ago on way back to Brown University

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:28:08 GMT

A Brown University spokesman said a Virginia antiques collector has turned over a Civil War-era sword that was stolen from the Ivy League school in the 1970s. Last week, a federal judge in Virginia ordered Williamsburg collector Donald Tharpe to surrender the Tiffany silver sword to Brown.

Cape Wind gets $200M investment from Danish fund

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:22:53 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — The Cape Wind offshore wind project has secured a $200 million investment from a Danish pension fund in what its president says is a milestone for the proposed 130-turbine project.

Penalty-killer Paille steps up offense for Bruins

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:22:19 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — His teammates always knew Daniel Paille was more than a speedy penalty killer who specialized in defense for the Boston Bruins.

Penalty-killer Paille steps up offense for Bruins

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:20:10 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — His teammates always knew Daniel Paille was more than a speedy penalty killer who specialized in defense for the Boston Bruins.

Wilson, Nobel winner for physics, dies in Maine

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:16:57 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Physicist Kenneth Wilson, who earned a Nobel prize for pioneering work that changed the way physicists think about phase transitions, has died in Maine, where he retired to enjoy kayaking with his wife. He was 77.

Surprise Hossa scratch part of NHL injury culture

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:11:02 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Marian Hossa is one of the Chicago Blackhawks' top scorers, with three game-winning goals already this postseason.

NH lawmakers reconcile medical marijuana bills

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:06:47 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — House and Senate negotiators reached a deal on a medical marijuana bill Tuesday, positioning New Hampshire to join more than a dozen other states in legalizing the drug for seriously ill patients.

APNewsBreak: Conn. chimp victim to appeal lawsuit

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:06:18 GMT

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — An attorney for a Connecticut woman disfigured by a friend's pet chimpanzee in 2009 says he plans to appeal a decision denying her permission to sue the state for $150 million on her claim that officials knew the animal was dangerous but didn't do anything about it.

Maine House approves dental hygienists bill

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:03:22 GMT

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The Democratic-led Maine House has given initial approval to a bill aimed at making dental care more accessible and affordable.

Markey, Gomez prep for final US Senate debate

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:59:13 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Republican Gabriel Gomez and Democrat Edward Markey are gearing up for their final debate in Massachusetts' special U.S. Senate election.

Vt. Gov. Shumlin tours new psychiatric residence

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:58:10 GMT

MIDDLESEX, Vt. (AP) — Gov. Peter Shumlin, legislators and other officials toured Vermont's newest state psychiatric facility Tuesday, a day before the Middlesex Therapeutic Community Residence was set to receive its first two patients.

Report warns of consequences to 38 Studios default

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:50:35 GMT

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Calls to pay what Rhode Island owes for its failed investment in Curt Schilling's 38 Studios are growing louder as a business-backed public policy group warned of dire consequences should the state default.

Metro-North suspended 2 after fatal May accident

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:49:07 GMT

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A student rail traffic controller was suspended after investigators said he reopened a track in Connecticut without proper approval last month shortly before a track foreman was killed by a train, officials said.

Former hit man John V. Martorano coolly describes a long parade of murders

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:47:08 GMT

Coolly and calmly, former hit man John V. Martorano today continued to lay out a grim parade of murders in horrific, cinematic detail in his testimony in the trial of notorious gangster James “Whitey” Bulger in US District Court in Boston, Martorano has confessed to 20 murders but served only 12 years in prison after agreeing to tesitfy for the prosecution.