Historical society gets Adams grant

BOSTON (AP) - The Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston has received $450,000 in federal funds for its project to preserve the papers of John Adams.

The money comes from a $250,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and a $200,000 matching offer.

It will be used to help prepare three volumes of John Adams' papers, two volumes of the Adams Family Correspondence and conversion of some of those papers to digital format.

The Massachusetts Historical Society has one of the most

N.H. volunteers help forecasts

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - New Hampshire weather buffs are being enlisted to help forecast the weather.

The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network is hooking up volunteers with equipment to monitor rain and snow totals, according to the Portsmouth Herald.

State Climatologist Mary Stampone says the effort will help the National Weather Service get out severe weather alerts and precipitation totals more quickly.

The data will be submitted to the NWS in Gray, Maine, which will analyze it and issue any weather watches or warnings.

NH police motorbike crashes with another

LACONIA, N.H. (AP) - A Laconia police officer and another man were injured when their motorcycles collided on Route 3.

New Hampshire State Police say 32-year-old Officer Karl Atherton was driving north Saturday with his emergency lights on. Police say 25-year-old Gary Liles, who was heading south, turned into the officer's path and their bikes collided.

The two were taken to Lakes Regional General Hospital. Their injuries were not critical.

The road was shut down for a while during the investigation, and Liles was issued a traffic

Life sciences act fuels research

Plane misses truck on runway

BOSTON (AP) - A construction truck crossed a runway at one of the nation's busiest airports Thursday just before a plane with 89 people aboard took off behind it.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates the airport, Logan International, were investigating the incident, labeled a "serious runway incursion."

The truck driver, who works for a private contractor, appears to have violated airfield procedures, authorities said.

Mass. cow walks 5 miles to New Hampshire

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) - Two wayward cows decided to abandon their Massachusetts farm and walk at least five miles into New Hampshire, generating 911 calls from drivers. Nashua Deputy Fire Chief Michael O'Brien said he and his partner spent 45 minutes with ropes in hand trying to chase down the cows Tuesday, WMUR reported.

One of the adolescent heifers was finally captured, found up to her neck in mud.

The farmer's daughter and son-in-law in Dunstable, Mass., are still searching for the second cow.

Top New England news story

this is the top new england story

SINGING OUT LOUD, FALLING ASLEEP

Sixty-nine percent of Americans say they enjoy driving their automobiles, down from 79 percent in 1991, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center.

Among other findings from the poll of 1,048 drivers:

n 68 percent said they have sung out loud in their cars in the past year.

n 38 percent said they had "shouted, cursed or made gestures to other drivers" in the past year.

Americans love their cars, even if they hate them, too

WASHINGTON - Americans love their automobiles, but not as much as they used to.

Nearly seven in 10 drivers enjoy getting behind the wheel, while the rest think it's a chore. In 1991, nearly eight in 10 said they liked driving.

The biggest reasons for dreading the road: traffic and the behavior of other drivers. Only 3 percent point to high gas prices.

"Other drivers get on my nerves," said Steve Heavisides, a 45-year-old teacher from Vernon, Conn., who had just returned home from a short drive.

Sleight of hand Magicians from around the world compete for top title

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) - A German illusionist levitates a table covered with a purple cloth, as fellow magicians scrutinize his every move.

"Even though I know how it works, I just can't understand how it can work," mutters a rival.

American Precision Museum gets birthday gift of grant

WINDSOR, Vt.

Scientists report seas contain many more microorganisms

WASHINGTON (AP) - The world's oceans contain many times more different types of microorganisms than had been thought, scientists report.

"Microbiologists have formally described 5,000 microbial species. This study shows we have barely scratched the surface," said Mitchell Sogin of the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Mass.

"In our new study, we discovered more than 20,000 in a single liter of seawater, having expected just 1,000 to 3,000.

Mass. woman dies during home liposuction surgery

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) - The death of a woman who underwent liposuction on a massage table in the blood-stained basement of a condominium, allegedly at the hands of a couple not licensed to practice medicine in Massachusetts, may indicate a much more widespread problem, prosecutors said Monday.

Luiz Carlos Ribeiro, 49, and his wife, Ana Maria Miranda Ribeiro, 49, both Brazilian nationals, pleaded not guilty when they were arraigned in Framingham District Court on Monday on charges of unauthorized practice of medicine and drug charges.

Boston plans citywide Wi-Fi

BOSTON (AP) - The city is considering an unusual approach to creating a citywide, low-cost wireless Internet network: putting a nonprofit organization, rather than a private service provider, in charge of building and running the system.

A task force on Monday recommended that Mayor Thomas Menino assign an as-yet unidentified nonprofit to raise the $16 million to $20 million in private money that the city estimates it will need to build and begin running the Wi-Fi network.

Other cities have generally relied on a single private contractor to assume upfront c

Amputee swims Winnipesaukee

ALTON, N.H. (AP) - A Massachusetts man who is missing part of one leg Sunday swam nine miles through Lake Winnipesaukee to raise money for charity.

It took Mike Welsch, 47, six hours to swim from Wolfeboro to Alton Bay. He raised $3,000 for the Jimmy Fund.

This isn't Welsch's first fundraising swim in New Hampshire's longest lake. Last year, Welsch, of Burlington, Mass., became the first amputee to attempt to swim the length of Lake Winnipesaukee, from Alton to Meredith.

N.H. fetal drug case may set precedent

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) - The upcoming trial of a Nashua woman on charges she endangered her unborn baby by using cocaine while pregnant may be the first in the state -but it's revived an old debate about whether a fetus counts as a person under state law.

Griseliz Fernandez's baby daughter was born 17 months ago with traces of cocaine in her blood, prosecutors charge.

Man arraigned in N.H. hospital

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) - A man on the Most Wanted list in Massachusetts who was caught in New Hampshire was rushed to the hospital on the morning of his arraignment.

William Penney, 38, was arraigned Monday from his bed at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center on a fugitive from justice charge.

Police weren't saying why Penney was hospitalized, but the judge made a reference to a stress condition during Penney's arraignment.

Hiker carried off Franconia Notch

FRANCONIA, N.H. (AP) - New Hampshire Fish and Game rescuers carried a Massachusetts woman off Franconia Notch after she broke her foot while hiking.

Robin Lipsor of Lexington, Mass., 50, took a bad step and broke her foot while hiking Old Bridal Path on Sunday with friends and family.

Fish and Game Sgt. Brian Suttmier said it took rescuers three hours to carry her off the mountain.

Hiking accident kills baby in N.H.

LINCOLN, N.H. (AP) - A 6-week old infant was killed by a falling tree during a family hike in Franconia Notch State Park during the weekend.

The infant was being carried by her 32-year-old mother when a tree fell across a trail, striking both of them around 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Lincoln police said. It appears that the tree, rotted away at the bottom, finally gave way.

Sgt.

Man sentenced for assaulting kid

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) - A man was sentenced to at least 15 years in prison Monday for sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl.

Gordon Fuller, 41, formerly of Nashua, was convicted in April in Hillsbourgh County Superior Court of three counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault and one count of felonious sexual assault.

Former Virginia congressman dies

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - James R. Olin, a former Virginia congressman and General Electric executive, died Saturday. He was 86.

The Democrat served Virginia's 6th District in the House of Representatives from 1982 to 1992.

Governor: Disney's visit to R.I. not so magical

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - They removed a historic chandelier and put down a false floor in the Statehouse rotunda. They replaced lamps with Greco-Roman statues and constructed a false front to the Senate Chamber.

But when crews filming the Disney move "Underdog" replaced with state flag flying over Rhode Island's Statehouse with one from a fictional city, that was the last straw for Gov.

EEE detected in mosquitoes

BOSTON (AP) - Public health officials said Monday that eastern equine encephalitis has been detected in human-biting mosquitoes for the first time this summer.

The virus, often referred to as EEE, was found in three different types of mosquitoes collected last week in the Lakeville/Middleborough area.

Chief medical officer Dr.