New rules floated for certifying medical marijuana

BOSTON (AP) — Certified nurse practitioners would be allowed to authorize medical marijuana use by patients under new rules proposed by Massachusetts health officials.Public hearings on that and other revisions to the medical marijuana program are...

Federal manhunt underway for escaped inmate

CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. (AP) — A round-the-clock state and federal manhunt is underway for an inmate who escaped from a Rhode Island detention center.The Wyatt Correctional Center warden says 35-year-old former Army reservist James Morales fled Saturday...

New laws show signs of helping slow opioid epidemic

By James Mattone

BOSTON — Although Massachusetts’ opioid deaths are still on the rise, with the powerful drug fentanyl adding to the toll, facets of the Legislature’s anti-drug act are beginning to have an impact.Prescribers have doubled their use of a new online tool...

Stage, streets and sky light up on First Night

By JACK SUNTRUP

NORTHAMPTON — Kim Tremblay sipped free hot chocolate and talked New Year’s resolutions as her family made its way to another event during Northampton’s 32nd First Night celebration.“There are things like that that are just everywhere,” Tremblay,...

Resolved: Revelers hope 2017 will be healthy, organized, connected and, well, less weird than 2016

By Jack Suntrup@JackSuntrupNORTHAMPTON — It’s Dec. 31, that day after all the other days of the year. The last one.It can be surreal to hit that imaginary pause button and reflect on 2016. We pull out the takeaways and think about them — the good...

Vermont utility finds malware code attributed to Russians

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A state electric utility confirmed on Friday it had found on one of its laptops a malware code the U.S. government says is used by Russian hackers.The Burlington Electric Department said U.S. utilities were alerted by the...

Deerfield takes lead in mosquito control with $35,000 state grant

By ANDY COSTILLO

DEERFIELD — There hasn’t been serious action taken to control mosquito populations in western Massachusetts since the early 1980s — until now.Deerfield is spearheading a regional partnership to “establish the Pioneer Valley Mosquito Control District”...

Skakel murder conviction reinstated

By MATTHEW KAUFFMAN

HARTFORD, Conn. — A divided Connecticut Supreme Court Friday reinstated the murder conviction of Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel, rejecting a Superior Court judge’s finding that Skakel’s trial was tainted by ineffective lawyering and setting the...

Search suspended for plane missing over Lake Erie

By MARK GILLISPIE

CLEVELAND — The U.S. Coast Guard on Friday suspended its search for an airplane that was carrying a beverage distribution company executive and five other people when it vanished over Lake Erie shortly after takeoff from the city’s lakeshore...

Program trains officers to spot drug use

By ORIANA DURAND

In the debate leading up to November’s vote legalizing marijuana, law enforcement officials warned that traffic cops had no equivalent to a Breathalyzer to prove drug impairment in drivers.“With marijuana, it’s much more difficult to make the arrest...

‘Turbocharged’ storm clobbers northern New England with plenty of snow

By DAVID SHARP

PORTLAND, Maine — The most powerful nor’easter in nearly two years brought heavy snow, powerful winds and even thunder and lightning to northern New England, leaving tens of thousands of people in the dark Friday and burying some towns under 2 feet of...

Promoting affordable housing among goals of Amherst community grant proposals

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Promoting affordable housing, enhancing community services for low- and moderate-income residents and making public infrastructure more accessible are among the projects encouraged in the town’s 2017 community development strategy.This...

Syria cease-fire goes into force

By BASSEM MROUE and VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV

BEIRUT — A cease-fire brokered by Russia and Turkey went into effect in war-ravaged Syria at midnight Thursday, a potential breakthrough in the six years of fighting that have left more than a quarter-million people dead and triggered a refugee crisis...

Hatfield lights up for 36th Luminarium

By JACK SUNTRUP

HATFIELD — The Hatfield Luminarium rolled into its 36th year Sunday, and as with years past, the town’s main drags were illuminated by candlelit milk jugs and paper bags.Each year, drivers steer bumper-to-bumper through town (headlights off for best...

Local farmers finding market for their meat CSA subscriptions

By RICHIE DAVIS

If your answer to “Where’s the beef?” is “local, local, local,” you’re not alone.The demand for locally raised beef, as well as lamb, pork, chicken and turkey, has been inching upward enough in recent years, with Shelburne’s Foxbard and Wheel-View...

AirBnB popular source of income in Pioneer Valley

By CAITLIN ASHWORTH

An extra space at home could bring in guests from all over the world — and some extra cash.Many people in Hampshire County are renting living space through the online platform Airbnb, a service that allows people to share space. There are currently...

Nearly 50 shot in Chicago over holiday

By KATHERINE ROSENBERG-DOUGLAS

CHICAGO — Five people were wounded in shootings in Chicago early Monday, bringing to almost 50 the number of people shot in the city since Christmas weekend began Friday afternoon. Much of the violence happened in areas “with historical gang...

Blizzards, ice storms wreak havoc in Plains

CHICAGO (AP) — Travel conditions remained hazardous as a winter storm swept across much of the northern Plains on Monday, with blowing and drifting snow forcing the closure of an airport and creating near-zero visibility on some roads.The combination...

Typhoon mars festivities in Philippines

By BULLIT MARQUEZ

BATANGAS, Philippines — A powerful typhoon blew out of the northern Philippines on Monday after killing at least six people and spoiling Christmas in several provinces, where more than 380,000 people abandoned celebrations at home to reach emergency...

Good wishes flow in for Carrie Fisher

By MARK KENNEDY

NEW YORK — Tributes and well-wishes poured in for “Star Wars” actress Carrie Fisher, who was spending Christmas Eve in a Los Angeles hospital after suffering a medical emergency on a flight the day before.“Princess Leia can survive anything!” wrote...