Suffolk County, Boston | featured news

A Somerville man accused of gunning down a Chelsea High School freshman and wounding a 15-year-old boy while firing toward a crowded street corner last year was arrested yesterday and will face a murder charge tomorrow, officials said.

When little Sabine Harnisch put a hand-scribbled message to her late grandmother in a small glass bottle and tossed it into Gloucester Harbor, she never thought she’d see it again.In the five years that have passed since she said goodbye to her beloved grandma, Sabine, now 13, said she forgot all about the message in the bottle.

A U.S. Navy destroyer that became an enduring symbol of freedom after it was damaged in a 2000 terror attack in Yemen that left 17 sailors dead and 39 others wounded will make a port call in Boston for St. Patrick’s Day, the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council said.

WEST BROOKFIELD — Investigators probing the horrific murder of a woman and her three young children are now focused on locating a discarded yellow fuel can they believe is connected to the killings that have rocked a small, tight-knit Central Mass. community.

MOSCOW — Tens of thousands of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s supporters gathered for a campaign rally yesterday at Moscow’s sprawling main sports complex.The crowd at the rally held two weeks before Russia’s presidential election filled the Luzhniki stadium, which has the capacity for more than 81,000 people. Police estimated the overall turnout at the complex, which includes other sports facilities, to be 130,000.The event yesterday featured entertainers and an appearance by Putin.

The still potent nor’easter spinning off the coast will bring more gusty winds, rising tidal floodwaters and a chance for overnight snow tonight to the already storm-battered region that’s just starting to sop up after this week’s slow-moving tempest.

A Plympton man died in the middle of yesterday’s nor’easter when a tree fell on the pickup truck he was driving, officials said.Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz identified the victim today as Ryan MacDonald, 37.Police officers responding to a 5:15 p.m. call Friday from a resident reporting that a tree fell onto a car on Cedar Street found a Dodge Ram pickup smashed by a large pine tree, Cruz said. The driver inside was dead, Cruz said. No foul play is suspected.Developing...

BOSTON — Students across Massachusetts will get a chance to learn about the American legal system from local judges.Dozens of judges will visit schools and community groups the first full week of March for National Judicial Outreach Week. It's an initiative of the American Bar Association.The judges are from Massachusetts' Appeals, Superior, District, Housing, Boston Municipal, Land, Juvenile and Probate and Family courts.

BRAINTREE, Mass. — The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston is launching its most important fundraising drive of the year this weekend.The 2018 Catholic Appeal will be announced in the archdiocese's 286 parishes on Saturday and Sunday, and will be followed by commitment weekend on March 11 and 12.The appeal provides needed funding to the many ministries that serve the parishes, schools, community programs and other affiliated organizations and enables the Catholic community to carry the Gospel and assist those in need.

BOSTON — The state's highest court is set to take up the question of whether Massachusetts can ban political contributions from businesses while allowing contributions from unions.Under state campaign finance law, businesses are not allowed to contribute to candidates while unions can donate up to $15,000. The annual limit on individual contributions is $1,000.Two Massachusetts businesses have challenged the law, arguing the same limits should apply to businesses and unions.