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SNIPPET: "Prosecutors allege that Mehanna, 27, and a second man, Ahmad Abousamra, 28, formerly of Mansfield, tried to join a terrorist training camp overseas, but were rejected, then plotted to shoot shoppers at a suburban mall, but scrapped the plan because they could not get automatic weapons. They are also accused of plotting to kill two unidentified government officials. Mehanna also allegedly incited violence by translating pro-jihad materials from Arabic to English and posting them on the Web."

Note: The following text is a quote: Ware Man Charged with Illegal Possession of Ammunition and Manufacturing Explosive Materials SPRINGFIELD, MA—A Ware man was charged today in federal court with Possession of Ammunition by a Convicted Felon and Manufacturing Explosive Materials without a License. United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Glenn N. Anderson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Leigh-Alistair Barzey, Resident Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General, Department of Defense’s...

In Massachusetts, marriage really still does mean until death do you part -- even after divorce. The Supreme Judicial Court today rejected a push to stop most alimony payments when someone reaches retirement age. The decision, which came in the divorce case of a former federal magistrate and state judge, noted that alimony payments can be lowered or, in some cases, cut off to reflect a person's actual income after retirement.

Almost 20% of West Virginians eligible to vote are either dead or have moved. Five States with the Most Dead People Eligible to Vote: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming. FUN TIME IN ACORN TOWN: DEAD PEOPLE RULE! Are you lonely when you go to the polling place? Want some company? Perhaps, you'd like to take along a dead "friend" to vote with you. That's a scenario that's becoming more possible across the United States. A combination of old voter registration lists that still contain the names of dead voters and voters who have moved, new "Motor Voter" legislation,...

Note: The following text is a quote: West Coast Man Charged with Developing and Distributing Cable Network Hacking Tools BOSTON, MA—Charges were unsealed in federal court against an Oregon man and the company he founded, TCNISO, alleging that they developed and distributed products that allowed users to modify their cable modems and obtain internet access without paying for it. Acting United States Attorney Michael K. Loucks, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer and Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Division, announced today that RYAN HARRIS, age 26, of San Diego,...

A patient in a psychiatric center near the Massachusetts General Hospital stabbed his doctor this afternoon before being shot dead by an off-duty security guard, police said. maeda_28shooting_met4.jpg(Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff) The physician is in stable condition, Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said at a press conference this afternoon as he described a chaotic scene. A relative said the victim was Dr. Astrid Desrosiers, a Massachusetts General Hospital psychiatrist who worked at the center. Isabellie Desrosiers, Desrosiers' sister-in-law, said she had been told by Desrosiers' sister that Astrid had been shot. Police identified the patient late this afternoon as 37-year-old Jay...

The Massachusetts man charged with conspiring in a terror plot has been a middle school math and religion teacher at a Muslim school in Worcester. Colleagues at the Alhuda Academy say they cannot believe the allegations against Tarek Mehanna (TEH'-rek meh-HAH'-nah), who was arrested Wednesday and charged in conspiring to support terrorism. They say he was a sweet guy and loved by his students. But prosecutors say Mehanna and his associates sought training at terrorist camps and discussed plans to target U.S. troops in Iraq and two politicians and to randomly shoot shoppers at U.S. malls.

Is this the type of healthcare system that President Obama wants for the rest of the country? Update: Make sure you check the update below. Rationing! The Baucus plan and the Waxman Murphy plan both will tax you if don’t have health insurance. But as we pointed out right here it’s so much more than that. You will be taxed even if you have coverage, IF, it’s not up to government standards. Remember, you read it here first?

Sometimes the National Rifle Association needs to know when it’s time to lighten up. It pains us to say that, because the NRA has fought hard to keep the state and federal governments from denying responsible, law-abiding Americans from possessing and enjoying guns. But the organization jerked the trigger recently when it targeted Easthampton Mayor Michael A. Tautznik and other Western Massachusetts mayors because they had the temerity to join Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a national organization that works to deny irresponsible and criminal citizens from getting their hands on guns. It would take the logical skills of Aristotle to...

This was conservatives’ seething summer of discontent and unhinged hysteria: town halls, tea parties and tirades. They captured headlines and gained momentum. Misinformation ran amuck. President Obama’s approval ratings tumbled. Through it all, Obama maintained a Pollyannaish, laissez-faire disposition. Some found this worrisome. Others, like me, even thought it weak. But maybe not so fast...

State senators passed a bill today 24-16 allowing Gov. Deval Patrick to pick a temporary U.S. senator by the end of the week following a final procedural vote tomorrow. If the House and Senate pass the bill, as expected, tomorrow a temporary senator can be chosen to fill the seat left vacant by the late U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. A permanent replacement will be elected by voters during a Jan. 19 special election.

This video will make you laugh at the incredible arrogance of our elected representatives. Representatives who play fast and loose with legislation and our freedom, all the while claiming … ignorance?This video is an interview done yesterday morning on Fox with Massachusetts Senator Bob Hedlund, a Republican who voted for the original version of the outrageous “Quarantine” law .

The Kennedy Funeral: Boston's Latest Scandal t | t | t | t by Phil Lawler, September 3, 2009   A week after the death of Ted Kennedy, the relevant question is not whether the Massachusetts Senator deserved a Catholic funeral, but whether he deserved a ceremony of public acclamation so grand and sweeping that it might, to the untutored observer, have seemed more like an informal canonization. We cannot know the state of Ted Kennedy's soul when he finally succumbed to brain cancer. We are told that he was visited regularly by a priest in his last days; we...

Curt Schilling, best known for his bloody-sock pitching heroics, may step up to the plate and run for U.S. Senate. The retired Red Sox [team stats] ace said today in a telephone interview with NECN that even though his “plate is full,” he’s been contacted to consider a run for the open seat held by the late Edward M. Kennedy. A Jan. 19 special election has been set by the governor to fill the post.

A Westport lawmaker who voted to hike the state sales and alcohol taxes was spotted brazenly piling booze in his car - adorned with his State House license plate - in the parking lot of a tax-free New Hampshire liquor store, the Herald has learned. Michael J. Rodrigues’ blue Ford Crown Victoria, emblazoned with his “House 29” Massachusetts license plate, was parked outside a Granite State liquor store on Interstate-95 South over the weekend, according to a witness who provided pictures to the Herald.

A Mass. State Rep. is crossing the border to buy alcohol in TAX-FREE New Hampshire! ....he was in NH purchasing alcohol instead of supporting Mass businesses and the 6.25% tax they just levied on us common folk... I guess those who pass the laws need not abide by them. You would think that after hours of testimony from Mass businesses saying how the increased tax and the alcohol tax would hurt them by causing people go to NH would have had an effect on these weasels. But, alas, it's proof again that they have no conscience and only serve their...

Governor Deval Patrick is scheduled to make an announcement this afternoon about special election to fill the US Senate seat left vacant by the death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Patrick is scheduled to make the announcement in the press briefing room at the State House, according to his staff. No details were released about the substance of the announcement. [Snip] It is an election that has considerable national implications, as Democrats try to maintain a 60-seat majority in the Senate. State lawmakers are also still trying to weigh one of Kennedy's final wishes: He wanted the governor to have...

STORM LAKE -- A 55-year-old Storm Lake man was arrested Thursday morning for allegedly making terrorist threats to Taco John's employees, according to a written statement from the Storm Lake Police Department today. Roger Crawford entered the Taco John's on East Milwaukee Avenue and threatened to...use mustard gas on the establishment, the statement said. Crawford remained angry when he left the fast food restaurant traveling westbound on Milwaukee Avenue on a bicycle.

The latest news reports indicate that Senator Edward Kennedy will receive the high honor of being laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery alongside the earthly remains of authentic American heroes who gave their lives in service to their country.No one in authority asked me if this an appropriate exclamation point to the seventy-seven year statement that is KennedyÂ’s earthly life, but just in case anyone was wondering; I would say that it may be more fitting to bury the former Massachusetts senator at sea.More specifically; IÂ’m thinking of a private, if not secretive, late night send-off during which the...

One day after the Herald reported some surprised Bay State inmates - including murderers and rapists - were cashing in $250 stimulus checks, federal officials revealed the same behind-bars bonus was mailed to nearly 4,000 cons nationwide. A federal watchdog is now probing how the cons were cut the checks. The same cash also may have been sent to fugitive felons, people kicked out of the country and even individuals now deceased. It’s all part of the massive American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 - and what is becoming an accounting nightmare for red-faced feds. “President Obama’s $787 billion...

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy Boston, Mass., Aug 26, 2009 / 01:01 pm (CNA).- Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) passed away last night at the age of 77 after a battle with brain cancer.  Kennedy, a Catholic, will be remembered for his service to the poor, and dedication to education but also his opposition to pro-life issues.After a long struggle with brain cancer, last night Sen. Kennedy took a turn for the worse while at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.  Surrounded by his family members and a priest, Fr. Patrick Tarrant, he passed away around 11:30 p.m.Fr. Tarrant told...

A new law just passed in Massachusetts imposes fines of up to $1000 per day and up to a 30 day jail sentence for not obeying authorities during a public health emergency. So if you are instructed to take the swine flu vaccine in Massachusetts and you refuse, you could be facing fines that will bankrupt you and a prison sentence on top of that. The YouTube video below is of a news report about this disturbing new law. In particular, pay attention at the 1:40 mark when the anchor and reporter discuss the new penalties for not obeying the...

Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray, who had privately expressed opposition to Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s plea for a temporary appointment to any US Senate vacancy, is now open to the idea, according to a colleague, who said she has given him the green light to round up the necessary votes.

Kennedy's Daughter Accepts His Medal Of Freedom 'Lion Of The Senate' Will Not Attend The D.C. Ceremony Sen. Edward Kennedy was among 16 people scheduled to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama on Wednesday. The medal is the nation's highest civilian honor.

Does anyone know if Ed Markey is planning on meeting with constituents or holding a town hall meeting during the Aug 09 recess?

Oddly enough, as the nation considers ObamaCare, the press is completely uninterested in the experience of Massachusetts and Hawaii, both of which have ambitious, and failed, experiments in trying to provide universal health care. Mitt Romney, the architect of the Bay State's health care plan, which is costing far more than expected, is largely absent from the airwaves, despite his legitimate claim to be an expert. The Boston Globe calls the plan a "failure" and notes "The state's plan flunks on all counts." Spending for the Commonwealth Care subsidized program has doubled, from $630 million in 2007 to an estimated...

BOSTON – A crowd of hundreds of local Muslims inaugurated a large new mosque last week in Roxbury Crossing. The 68,000 sq foot Islamic Cultural Center in the heart of Boston, designed by Dr. Sami Angawi, and pioneered by board member Dr. Walid Fitaihi, Dr. Osama Kandeel and others, celebrated its inauguration with the historic attendance of the first Muslim in the United States Congress, Keith Ellison, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. This new Islamic cultural center in America is tremendously significant as it resides 5 minutes from the heart of downtown Boston and less than...

BOSTON — A hospital that serves thousands of indigent Massachusetts residents sued the state on Wednesday, charging that its costly universal health care law is forcing the hospital to cover too much of the expense of caring for the poor. The hospital, Boston Medical Center, faces a $38 million deficit for the fiscal year ending in September, its first loss in five years. The suit says the hospital will lose more than $100 million next year because the state has lowered Medicaid reimbursement rates and stopped paying Boston Medical “reasonable costs” for treating other poor patients. “We filed this suit...

In Part I, I set the groundwork for this discussion by providing the details that the so-called mainstream media won’t. I finished by asking some basic questions: Why would the SJC take up this case on appeal? How would the SJC be viewed by the citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts if they indeed were to rule against Runyan? What if they rule in favor of Runyan? What, if any would be the short or long term ramifications? Before I answer those hypothetical questions let’s review some more historical context to help you understand where we are today. The Second...

Middlesex District Attorney Gerry LeoneThere are a few social issues in this country that, if judged by the output of so called mainstream media outlets, seem to be driven by pure emotion rather than logic and the laws of our republic. One could, I believe, argue that the top two issues falling into that category are those of abortion and gun control. I believe that despite the constant flow of emotional rhetoric and lack of facts from these sources Americans can and will ultimately insist that logic and the law prevail, but not unlike the dreadful Dred Scott decision these...

Massachusetts wants even more tax revenue—from New Hampshire.___ Should New Hampshire businesses have to collect Massachusetts sales taxes from border-crossing shoppers? That’s the issue in Town Fair Tire v. Massachusetts, a case before the Bay State’s Supreme Judicial Court with ramifications for commerce and constitutional law well beyond New England. In 2003, a Massachusetts Department of Revenue audit uncovered invoices from three New Hampshire outlets of the Town Fair Tire company (TFT) to customers with Massachusetts addresses. Because Connecticut-based TFT also has locations in Massachusetts—and therefore benefits from various public services there, from police protection to road maintenance—the Massachusetts Appellate...

Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston Boston, Mass., Jun 9, 2009 / 06:21 am (CNA).- Further information about the Celticare medical program created in a Catholic health care network’s partnership with a secular company has renewed charges that the Catholic network will be complicit in the provision of abortions. The Archdiocese of Boston told CNA it is reviewing the matter.The Caritas Christi Health Care network, which is affiliated with the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, joined in a partnership with Centene Corp. to enter into the state’s subsidized health program, Commonwealth Care.The Centene-Caritas Christi partnership, in which Centene is the senior...

From this morning's Boston Globe, an extensive, bittersweet piece on Fr Jim Field -- the beloved local pastor who's keeping at it in the face of a terminal diagnosis: Field has spent years helping others cope with death and dying. He has anointed the sick, buried the dead, and comforted the bereaved. But now he is confronting his own mortality, much earlier than he had expected. He is 58 years old and he has pancreatic cancer, an incurable and fast-moving disease that he knows he can't survive. And, in a step that has rallied the Parish of the Incarnation...

NORTH TRURO — As Truro celebrates its 300th birthday, one of its residents has unearthed a silver coin that's even older. Peter Burgess, who owns a house next to Old North Cemetery and the site of an early church and meeting house, found a thin coin in his yard a year ago. He was moving dirt in his garden. He picked up the brown disc, which is about the size of a dime and bears markings near the edges. The story of Burgess' find comes at a fortuitous moment, as this seaside village commemorates its incorporation on July 16, 1709....

Homosexual Youth Pride Day: State-sponsored homosexual & transgender activities for children PART I: "Celebration" in downtown Boston. With lots of strange adults everywhere. You can't make this stuff up. The MC of the day's event was a man dressed as a woman. This is what your politicians think of you and your children.

HAVERHILL — Keni Garcia told police he intended to use the 30,000 bullets they found in his car and home for target practice. That is hard to believe, the prosecutor at Garcia's arraignment said, because if he were to fire a gun for eight hours a day, it would take weeks for him to use all of it. Garcia, who allegedly bought thousands of rounds of ammunition and had 10,000 bullets in his car when he was stopped by police Thursday, was ordered held on $500,000 cash bail yesterday.

Gov. Deval Patrick’s free wheels for welfare recipients program is revving up despite the stalled economy, as the keys to donated cars loaded with state-funded insurance, repairs and even AAA membership are handed out to get them to work. But the program - fueled by a funding boost despite the state’s fiscal crash - allows those who end up back on welfare to keep the cars anyway.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Some people think they're Taxed Enough Already. T.E.A. Party organizers say they're angry at federal spending since President Barack Obama took over. Protesters gathered to denounce big government spending at the Springfield Post Office on Wednesday, tax deadline day. Taxpayers waved signs that read everything from "Give us liberty, not debt," to "Born free, taxed to death." Tea parties are being held across the country protesting government spending and rising taxes, including one in Springfield. The organizers got their inspiration from the Boston Tea Party, a protest over taxed tea that took place in Boston Harbor...

I.B.M. withdrew its $7 billion bid for Sun Microsystems on Sunday, one day after Sun’s board balked at a reduced offer, according to three people close to the talks. The deal’s collapse after weeks of negotiations raises questions about Sun’s next step, since the I.B.M. offer was far above the value of the Silicon Valley company’s shares when news of the I.B.M. offer first surfaced last month. Sun, an innovative pioneer in computer workstations, servers and Internet-era software, has struggled in recent years and spent months trying to secure a suitor. With I.B.M. and others shying away from a deal,...

(NECN: Josh Brogadir, Braintree, Mass.) - Gun sales are up significantly across the nation the past few months. Some point to a significant change in the White House, Congress and the economy as the reason for the rapid rise. The Braintree Rifle and Pistol Club is open to its members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And more people are coming than ever before. But why? Is economic turmoil leading to a predicted rise in break-ins and the increased need for protection?

From the bullet that smashed through a Lawrence City Hall window to stinking fishes flung at the Gloucester mayor’s home, city and state leaders are feeling the heat on the street from taxpayers and public sector workers fuming over impending layoffs and service cuts.

A throwback to the 1970s, our own original hope-n-change governor has proposed his most daring tax hike yet. A 19 cent gas tax increase to pay for the struggling Mass. Transit/MBTA department which will be on top of the proposed candy, soda, alcohol tax increases. SUVs will also be subjected to higher fees and a crackdown to ensure that MA residents avoid breaking the law and buying goods in tax free New Hampshire. How is that liberals still have not learned, that taxing people when they are hurting from a recession, depleted 401Ks, plummeting house values and rising unemployment is...

One would never guess that America is experiencing one of the worst recessions in history. Considering the legislation being passed on the federal level and proposals being made on the state level, one would think that Americans are enjoying tremendous excesses and the government simply wants to partake. Yesterday, Obama signed into law the SCHIP modifications that would expand coverage to more children. The pitfalls of this legislation are too numerous to list, the burden on the taxpayer is growing. Under the new applicants will no longer have to provide social security numbers when filing for aid, thereby allowing illegals...

NEW YORK -- President-elect Barack Obama is on his way to the big screen, thanks to a deal between MSNBC and Screenvision that will put the news channel's inaugural coverage in 27 theaters around the country. Free tickets are being handed out via MSNBC.com to see the inauguration and parade from 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. ET at the 27 theaters run by 11 exhibitor partners in 21 markets. Midday Tuesday isn't necessarily a big movie time, so it helps to fill the theater -- and boost popcorn and soda sales -- at a time when it's not usually busy. That means...

Governors of five U.S. states urged the federal government to provide $1 trillion in aid to the country's 50 states to help pay for education, welfare and infrastructure as states struggle with steep budget deficits amid a deepening recession. The governors of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio and Wisconsin -- all Democrats -- said the initiative for the two-year aid package was backed by other governors and follows a meeting in December where governors called on President-elect Barack Obama to help them maintain services in the face of slumping revenues. Gov. David Paterson of New York said 43 states...

Hey, Cuomo, stand up and fight. I’m talking to Andrew Cuomo, the attorney general of New York. Stand up and fight. For the last two weeks, as the Caroline Kennedy coronation has been going on, the man whose career she is destroying has been silent. It’s as if he fell off the face of the earth. The story is that Caroline Kennedy has announced that she wants to be a U.S. senator from New York. She has no experience, no preparation, no training. She has never stood before the voters. She has never even visited vast stretches of the state...

This is my traditional Thanksgiving essay from WarOnGuns. Attacks by roving flocks of wild turkeys are on the increase around suburban Boston--AP Time was, the turkey was considered a game bird. The Pilgrims at Plymouth feasted on them. Generations later, Ben Franklin considered it such a useful fowl that he nominated it for the national bird. Of course, this was in the days when the right to bear arms was taken for granted, when free people hunted turkeys for sustenance, all the while honing marksmanship that would serve them well in time of need. Flash forward to present-day Boston, a...

Some of the nation’s universities are trying to sell chunks of their portfolios privately as their endowments swoon with the markets, The New York Times’s Claire Cain Miller and Geraldine Fabrikant write. Among institutional investors, school endowments aggressively embraced private equity, real estate partnerships, venture capital, commodities, hedge funds and other so-called alternative investments over the last few years. Endowments with more than $1 billion in assets reported 35 percent of their holdings in these types of investments on average last year, a much greater portion than big public pension funds, for example. Now they are balking. The value of...

If you’re having trouble figuring out what Gov. Deval Patrick’s really trying to do with the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, just keep in mind the ABC’s of Beacon Hill budgeting: Anything But Cuts. While your wages have likely remained flat the past five years, state government spending has gone up 8 percent each year. During the past year, while the private sector was losing 1.4 million jobs, USA Today reports that state and local governments added 160,000 - the second-fastest growing sector of the economy. So when you hear that Patrick is “getting rid of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority,” you should...

President-elect Barack Obama will be taking office in January, and his transition team will have plenty to deal with. Jamie S. Gorelick, a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP and former deputy U.S. attorney general, said at the The Deal's M&A Outlook 2009 conference on Tuesday that the president-elect will take a centrist stance on policy targeted to restart the economy. His centrist stance can be seen in his unnatural calmness during crises of his campaigning as well as in his resistance to partisan and personal attacks on the campaign trail, Gorelick said. She added that she...