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Arlington resident and nurse Kelly Williams was a caretaker from the beginning — she would rush to her siblings when they were injured, and at 8 years old she helped care for her ailing grandmother.“She’s the youngest, but she was always the person to put Band-Aids on her older brothers and sister,” said her mother, Donna Kelly-Williams, 63. “She’s the nurse that I would want to take care of me.”

Facebook founder and Harvard dropout Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are giving Harvard and MIT $30 million to improve child literacy.

Two dog owners are among seven people chosen as jurors to hear the heartbreaking “Puppy Doe” case — arguably the most notorious instance of animal cruelty in the state’s history.Prosecutors, defense attorneys and Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly J. Cannone will resume the arduous selection process this morning toward their goal of seating 16 for the trial of Radoslaw Czerkawski, accused of torturing a pit bull puppy.

Former Gov. Deval Patrick said a 2020 presidential run is on his “radar screen,” marking the most concrete language he’s offered yet about a potential White House bid.The comments, delivered in a Kansas City radio station interview last week, were largely unnoticed until yesterday, but they quickly ratcheted up speculation about his future, as many in Democratic circles have watched — and wondered — about his next move.

A Westford school janitor was arrested when cops found an illegal gun in the trunk of his car on school grounds, police said.James Healy, 21, of Westford, a custodian at the Crisafulli Elementary School is expected to be arraigned today in Ayer District Court on several firearms charges.Cops said they received a tip from someone who spotted Healy’s firearm posted on social media.

A Chicopee cop has been accused of committing a rape and kidnapping while on a weekend drill with his National Guard unit, prosecutors and police said.Corey Fournier, 27, of Chicopee pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape, kidnapping, and assault and battery, at his arraignment yesterday in Clinton District Court. He was ordered held on $5,000 cash bail, according to Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early’s office.

Many of the nearly two dozen medical marijuana dispensaries already open in Massachusetts are expected to ready pitches to edge into the recreational market, and dozens more could also enter the fray when state regulators start accepting applications on April 1, industry officials say. But whether they, or any others, are actually selling pot by July 1 — when legal sales are allowed to begin — remains an open question, as they prepare to meet both newly cemented state regulations and local guidelines that could differ from town to town.

After more than two decades on the run, convicted child rapist John J. Hartin faced his victims in court yesterday as he was sentenced to 12 to 14 years behind bars.“When I was a 6-year-old little boy, you took everything from me,” one abuse survivor, now a young man, tearfully told Hartin. “You robbed me of my innocence.”Hartin’s two victims each read statements to their abuser, and one thanked jurors for making sure “one more sicko is off the streets.”

BOSTON — One of the largest hospital mergers ever proposed in Massachusetts has moved a step closer to completion.A staff report prepared by the state Department of Public Health recommends approval of the 13-hospital deal.The merger would involve Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center hospitals, The Lahey Health system, along with New England Baptist Hospital in Boston, Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, and Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport.

Federal prosecutors say their case against two of Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s top lieutenants could be on a "collision course" with dismissal if a federal judge does not reconsider his proposed jury instructions in the high-profile case.