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The city is on the brink of approving a ban on serving foods with artery-clogging trans fats at Hub restaurants, schools and hospitals, with a vote expected later this afternoon on the ban. The Boston Public Health Commission will hold a public hearing at 3 p.m. today and a vote on the ban is expected at 4 p.m. Anne McHugh, project director for Boston Steps, a chronic disease prevention program at the Boston Public Health Commission, said banning trans fats will save lives.

Football legend Red Grange loved to tell the story about the time he visited Calvin Coolidge at the White House. As the tale goes, when an aide made the introductions by saying, “Mr. President, this is Red Grange of the Chicago Bears,” Coolidge replied, “Great! I love circus acts.” True story? Political folklore? What we do know, and we’ll know it forever, is that President Bush really did stand at a podium on the South Lawn yesterday and speak these words: “I’m sorry Manny Ramirez [stats] isn’t here. I guess his grandmother died again.”

This just ran across the ESPN News scroll... "A source close to a former Yankees strength trainer tells ESPN The Magazine's Shawn Assael that the trainer told Mitchell investigators he supplied Roger Clemens with steroids; information supplied by this trainer is in the Mitchell report. According to one industry official who spoke to [the] Bergen Record, 'several' prominent Yankees will be named in the Mitchell report."

A judge under fire for springing a killer was the supervising prosecutor on a botched case that set a child rapist free just six months before she was put on the bench by former Gov. Mitt Romney, the Herald has learned. Judge Kathe Tuttman, who has been criticized for releasing mom-killer Daniel Tavares, was the head of the Essex District Attorney’s Family Crimes and Sexual Assault Unit in November 2005, when the office missed two deadlines that led to the release of convicted rapist Daniel Parra. Prosecutors wanted Parra civilly committed as a sexually dangerous person, but slipups by Tuttman’s...

The father of a Washington woman slaughtered along with her new husband - allegedly at the hands of a convicted Bay State killer - said his daughter’s accused murderer never should have been released from prison here. “It’s because of stupidity in Massachusetts that my daughter is dead,” said Darrel Slater, 55, who is preparing to bury his daughter, Beverly Mauck, 28, and her husband Brian Mauck, 30. The couple was executed in their home in rural Graham, Wash., Saturday after an alleged argument with Daniel Tavares Jr., 41, who in 1991 pleaded guilty to hacking his mother to death...

BOSTON --Sen. John Kerry, whose 2004 presidential campaign was torpedoed by critics of his Vietnam War record, said Friday he has personally accepted Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens' offer of $1 million to anyone who can disprove even a single charge of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. In a letter to Pickens, who provided $3 million to bankroll the group during Kerry's race against President Bush, the Massachusetts Democrat wrote: "While I am prepared to show they lied on allegation after allegation, you have generously offered to pay one million dollars for just one thing that can be proven...

RON PAUL has just reached the peak of geek chic. Having delivered a passionate paean to libertarianism at Oyster River High School, Paul has been presented with a pair of sporty two-tone sunglasses. "Put them on!" the students yell. The 72-year-old Republican presidential candidate obligingly dons the youthful shades - then stands there beaming as the assembly hall erupts in delight. Moments later, the kids flock around him, seeking autographs. Later that afternoon, Paul earns another enthusiastic reception from a capacity crowd at the University of New Hampshire. So what explains Paul's appeal?

Drug use, identity theft described in testimony The federal trial of a rogue motorcycle cop threatens to blow the lid off alleged widespread corruption within the Boston Police Department as a key witness drops daily bombshells implicating unindicted officers allegedly involved in illicit drug use, identity fraud and wild sex romps. Roberto “Kiko” Pulido, 42, an 11-year veteran of the force, is on the hot seat in U.S. District Court charged with attempted possession and conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He and two other officers, Nelson Carrasquillo and Carlos Pizarro - both of whom have since pleaded guilty to like offenses...

In the first major revision of U.S. naval strategy in two decades, maritime officials said Wednesday they plan to focus more on humanitarian missions and improving international cooperation as a way to prevent conflicts. "We believe that preventing wars is as important as winning wars," said the new strategy announced by the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.

NEW YORK - Alex Rodriguez is ready to cash in. Again. Agent Scott Boras hinted yesterday that A-Rod will opt out of the final three seasons of his contract with the New York Yankees and seek a new deal in the free agent market that will lock him up through his pursuit of Barry Bonds’ home run record. Boras negotiated Rodriguez’ record 10-year, $252 million agreement with Texas before the 2001 season, a contract the Yankees took on when they acquired A-Rod before the 2004 season. His next deal could last more than a decade. “Alex wants to be in...

WASHINGTON --One in 12 full-time workers in the United States acknowledges having used illegal drugs in the past month, the government reports. Most of those who report using illicit drugs are employed full-time, with the highest rates among restaurant workers, 17.4 percent, and construction workers, 15.1 percent, according to a federal study being released Monday. About 4 percent of teachers and social service workers reported using illegal drugs in the past month, which was among the lowest rates.

Brothers and Sisters of Free Republic, As you may or may not know, recently, the Boston Globe published a page one, above-the-fold, feature news story claiming that declining retention rates for West Point graduates are due to "repeated tours of duty in Iraq." While Bryan Bender, the author of the piece, went to great lengths to show that retention rates---at the end of the service requirement---are indeed lower than typical for classes graduating six to seven years ago, his "proof" that this was related to the War in Iraq was tangential, and, at best, anecdotal. I'm a freelance journalist, and...

Gov. Deval Patrick yesterday admitted he “really screwed up” by spending tax dollars on a leased Cadillac and high-end office furniture, but he strongly defended the hiring of a $72,000-a-year chief of staff for his wife. “Every governor has had staff to help support the work of the office, including the work of the first lady,” Patrick said during an impromptu press conference. “It’s official business.” However, a Patrick aide could recall only two events Diane Patrick has attended this year, one to promote early education initiatives in the State House and a second to appear at a reading event...

NEW YORK - Randy Johnson could be leaving the New York Yankees after just two seasons. The Yankees have started trade talks with several teams, including the Arizona Diamondbacks, although it is too early to tell whether the discussions will lead to a deal. Talks were confirmed yesterday by a baseball official who had knowledge of them and spoke on condition of anonymity because they are in the preliminary stage. The Yankees’ discussions with the Diamondbacks, Johnson’s

According to G. Edes of the Glob: The Red Sox contingent in Southern California is currently flying back to Boston with pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka and his agent, Scott Boras, on board. “You can assume that a deal is done or close,” said one source with direct knowledge of the talks. (NECN's Chris Collins and SI.com's John Heyman are reporting that a six-year deal worth $52 million has been struck, pending a physical. The reports did not cite any sources, nor could be confirmed.)

Mayor Thomas M. Menino proposed in a morning speech today to sell the current City Hall and City Hall Plaza to private developers and relocate the seat of city government to Drydock Four on the South Boston Waterfront."This sale will open up prime real estate for facilities and open space that will galvanize the vitality of our downtown and strengthen Boston's future," Menino said in a speech at a breakfast event sponsored by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. Menino explored a possible sale of City Hall in 1998. Now he's proposing a sale again as part of a plan...

The Goat is old & gnarly and he's never been to school, But He can take the bacon from the worn out Army mule; He's got no education, but he's brimmin full O'fight, And Bill will feed on Army mule tonight! Army, Army, call the doctor Army, Army, call the doctor Army, Army, call the doctor You're all in, down and out!

Retired General Electric Co. chief executive Jack Welch confirmed today on the Today show that he is interested in buying the Boston Globe. Welch and his wife, Suzy, were interviewed on the NBC morning TV show by host Matt Lauer about their new book, “Winning the Welch Way.” Lauer asked about a news report last week that revealed Welch and local advertising executive Jack Connors were interested in purchasing the Boston Globe.

BRATTLEBORO -- Here on the banks of the Connecticut River, in the busiest parking area of a downtown peppered with bookstores and coffee shops, more is meeting the eye than some people want. A politely rebellious collection of teenagers passing time in the Harmony Parking Lot this summer has taken to disrobing. Seemingly on a whim, they shed clothes and soak up the sun, nude. What began as a lark or an ode to youthful exuberance has now turned into a municipal quandary, because public nudity is permissible in Brattleboro. In the words of Town Manager Jerry Remillard, if you're...

It was March 2003, the eve of the US invasion of Iraq, and into the office of dumbfounded Pakistani newspaper editor Najam Sethi walked an articulate, fresh-faced Vermont woman, saying she wanted to vent her anger at America in his pages. Violence-plagued Lahore teemed with anti-American sentiment, yet Catherine C. Mayo seemed to move about with ease, Sethi recalled. And writing for the Daily Times of Pakistan, Mayo told about her 1960s activism. About her love of Cat Stevens and Howard Dean. About the mountains and lakes of her native Vermont. And about her shame and anger at America.