BOSTON (AP) – A police bomb unit, alerted by a pedestrian to something suspicious on the side of the street, found a hand grenade used in military training early Wednesday.The device was working and had the potential to explode, said Elaine Driscoll, a police spokeswoman.“It was absolutely a potential threat,” she said.The device was first […]

The largest Muslim organization in North America has elected its first female president – a watershed that the group says signals support for women leaders throughout their community.Ingrid Mattson, a Canadian convert to Islam and an Islamic law scholar at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut, was elected to lead the Islamic Society of North America just […]

BOSTON (AP) – The family of a woman who was killed when 12 tons of concrete ceiling panels in a Big Dig tunnel collapsed onto her car filed a wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday against the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and contractors that worked on the massive highway project.In the lawsuit, the husband and oldest daughter of […]

BOSTON (AP) – A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a group trying to force tobacco companies to pay at least $60 billion spent by Medicare on smoking-related illnesses.United Seniors Association Inc., a Virginia-based lobbying group for senior citizens, sued the companies last year, claiming they intentionally hid cigarettes’ addictive properties and should be […]

RINDGE, N.H. (AP) – Home Depot is suing the town of Rindge, saying the town’s zoning board violated the company’s rights.The board has refused to allow the company to fill about a third of an acre of wetlands as part of a building project. Initially, the board approved the request, then changed its position.Home Depot […]

ST. ALBANS, Vt. (AP) – Some called her “Queen Chick,” others “Book Lady.”They loved her for her infectious laugh, the way she made the second-graders feel, the way she lit up at the start of a new school year.On Tuesday, more than 400 fellow teachers, former students, family members and friends gathered to say goodbye […]

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) – A man who was acquitted of raping a Massachusetts teen several years ago has been charged with trying to seduce underage girls through an instant messaging service, a prosecutor said.Norman Laliberte, 32, of Hooksett, was arrested Friday in Manchester and Saturday in Nashua as a result of unrelated online investigations by […]

VERNON, Vt. (AP) – The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant has been ordered to stop releasing warmer water into the Connecticut River.Environmental Court Judge Merideth Wright said the environmental groups suing to block the releases have shown a “substantial possibility that they will prevail.”The warm water being released from the plant could harm fish in […]

WASHINGTON (AP) – The nation’s poverty rate was essentially unchanged last year, the first year it hasn’t increased since before President Bush took office.The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that 37 million Americans were living under the poverty line last year – about 12.6 percent of the population. That’s down from 12.7 percent in 2004, but […]

BOSTON (AP) – The level of nicotine that smokers typically consume per cigarette has risen about 10 percent in the past six years, making it harder to quit and easier to get hooked, according to a new report released Tuesday by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.The study shows a steady climb in the amount […]