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​More than 200 entrepreneurs aiming to launch recreational pot companies took the first step to be certified by regulators on the first full day of applications.The Cannabis Control Commission said 218 applications have been started and 274 user accounts have been created in its online licensing system as of its meeting yesterday morning.Priority applications opened Monday at noon for businesses given “economic priority” and for already licensed medical marijuana dispensaries seeking to break into the recreational market, poised to open in July.

Officers in the Boston Police Department’s most sought-after units — including homicide and gang squads — are predominantly white, while their supervisors are overwhelmingly white men, according to statistics obtained by the Herald.Of the 224 officers working in the units — homicide, gang, drug control, fugitive apprehension and special investigation — between 61 percent and 67 percent are white men, per BPD statistics.

MEDFORD, Mass. — A group of dining hall workers at Tufts University announced Tuesday that they are joining a labor union.A delegation went to the offices of university administration to present a photo petition of workers holding a banner with signatures pledging to unionize. They said they are joining UNITE HERE Local 26 and demanded that the university recognize the union.UNITE HERE Local 26 represents nearly 10,000 members in hotels, food service, Logan International Airport and gaming across Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

BOSTON — About 5,000 uniformed and undercover police officers, surveillance drones, bomb- and chemical-sniffing dogs and heavy trucks blocking streets are just some of the security measures being used to protect this year's Boston Marathon, law enforcement officials said Tuesday.Authorities are taking no risks when it comes to the 122nd running of the marathon, even though there are no known threats to the April 16 race that goes through eight cities and towns.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A man and a woman have been indicted on human trafficking and money laundering charges for trafficking women.Sixty-five-year-old Stephen Forsley and 61-year-old Liu Yang were indicted by a grand jury for charges including trafficking women for sexual servitude and deriving support from prostitution.Forsley and Yang were originally arrested in January after a months-long investigation found evidence they were allegedly running a human trafficking ring fronted through massage parlors.

BOSTON — There appears to be no shortage of interest in obtaining commercial marijuana licenses in Massachusetts.The state's Cannabis Control Commission reported on Tuesday that more than 200 applications have been started on the agency's website since a "priority certification" period opened one day earlier.Operators of registered medical marijuana dispensaries and prospective cannabis businesses seeking to locate in designated economic empowerment zones can seek priority status between now and April 16.

FALL RIVER, Mass. — A Massachusetts man convicted of carjacking and assaulting two sisters in their 60s has been sentenced to up to 12 years in prison.Prosecutors say 53-year-old Daniel Carvalho, of Fall River, was sentenced after pleading guilty to multiple charges including assault and battery on a person over 60 and being a habitual offender.

CONCORD, N.H. — The Vermont man suspected in the murder of his wealthy grandfather and the disappearance of his mother told a New Hampshire judge today that he doesn’t have key documents lawyers for his aunts are seeking. The prime document sought is for a $3,000 assault rifle he allegedly bought in this state — the same caliber of gun they say was used to kill his grandfather.

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A Massachusetts police captain previously placed on leave amid "discrepancies" involving evidence room money has been indicted.Prosecutors say West Springfield Capt. Daniel Spaulding was indicted Friday for allegedly stealing more than $1,000 from the department. Spaulding was charged with using an official position to obtain unwarranted privilege.Spaulding was the senior officer in charge of evidence until October.

BOSTON — The Massachusetts man blamed for causing a shuttle van crash near Boston's Logan Airport in 2016 that killed two visitors from Texas has been sentenced to seven years in prison.The Salem News reported Monday that Steven Birenbaum pleaded guilty in February to two counts of manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.