--In Lancaster, an 18-year-old died last night after her Jeep was hit by a tractor-trailer. WBZ reports that the driver of the tractor-trailer fled the scene of the accident. Here's the description of the tractor-trailer: "A light red tractor, towing a white trailer, equipped with many lights. Police think because of the crash, there could be damage to the driver side, most likely in the middle or the rear. --Someone stole money from the Harvard-Epworth......

--Only one woman at MIT this year was granted tenure. Uh, you've come a long way, baby? [Boston Globe] --In better news for gender equality, Massachusetts ranks fifth when it comes to the number of women in powerful state government positions. Women make up almost half of Governor Deval Patrick's leadership team. [Boston Herald] --Seven people were injured in a house fire in Brockton yesterday afternoon, including former Brockton city councilor George Papas. [The Enterprise]......

--Screenwriters, get your pens. A boy finagled his way into becoming an exchange student at the all-female Wellesley College. Ready … set … go! [Boston Globe] --Barack Obama and his supporters didn't let the weather stop their gathering at the Park Plaza Castle. He joked that "the name of my cousin, Dick Cheney, will not be on the ballot.” Now when's Oprah coming? [WCVB, Harvard Crimson] --Dr. Ruth was in town. Laurel Sweet describes her......

--The Legislature is going to consider banning spanking tomorrow. That's spanking of children, not "please, sir, may I have another" frat-spanking or whatever role-playing you do with your significant other. [WCVB] --A man's SUV became stuck on train tracks in Beverly last night just as a commuter train was heading toward him. He escaped in the nick of time. His SUV got creamed. [Photo-WCVB] --The Roman Catholic Archdiocese plans to close at least two schools......

Nostalghia 11.00am, Saturday, November 10 Brattle Theatre 40 Brattle Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge Free Sparsely attended and overlooked by the media, the Brattle Theatre's monthly "Elements of Cinema" series must be the most unsung ongoing act of cultural good will in Cambridge. Since June, the Brattle has offered a free crash course in the history of cinema -- one classic film shown every second Saturday morning. Past screenings have included Citizen Kane, The 400 Blows,......

This is Massachusetts, right? But early this morning a 2.5 earthquake hit towns west of Boston, including Littleton and Ayer. Betsy Levinson at Wicked Local spoke with Littleton police dispatch Supervisor Tim Bemis, who described residents' response to the shaking: "It sounded like a plane crash on 495, or a truck had crashed into their home." WCVB reported that this is the second earthquake in the area this month and that a 1.8 quake affected......

Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy underwent surgery this morning for a partially blocked artery in his neck. Here's the details: "As part of a routine evaluation of Senator Kennedy's back and spine, MRI studies picked up an unrelated, asymptomatic blockage in the senator's left carotid artery," said a statement from Kennedy's Washington office. "This morning, Senator Kennedy underwent preventive surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital to remove the blockage." Doctors were checking on his back because he......

Last Thursday, Noah Goldman closed the visor on his steel helmet and straightened his body for the blow he was about to receive from his teacher's sword. It was the first practice of the season for the Boston-area Schola Saint George Western martial arts study group, and Goldman needed to christen his new headgear. Group Leader Charles Deily pulled the wooden sword back and slammed it into Goldman's head. The crash reverberated through the empty,......

Seattlest watches as a S.L.U.T. is born and Seattle Flickr users go nuts over a local art installation. A restaurant critic demands a Diner's Bill of Rights over a gnat next to her drink, and, in lieu of a Portlandist, Seattlest debates with itself over the identity of the Northwest's crown jewel. Seattlest also joins the guys from Fantagraphics for an ill-fated gun party in the woods. LAist saw national headlines soar this week with......

Today, some Massachusetts residents will be voting on a replacement for State Senator Jarrett Barrios, who left the Senate to make some bucks working for Blue Cross. The following candidates for his position are all Democrats: Timothy Flaherty - Former assistant DA and son of Charlie Flaherty, who used to be speaker of the Massachusetts House. Definitely has the most badass campaign photo. Also has the most endorsements (Globe, Cambridge Chronicle, Blue Mass Group). Anthony......

--On Friday night, a teenage boy was stabbed in East Boston following a fight. Police picked up 17-year-old Jeffrey Sattery of Revere and charged him with assault. The victim's injury was non-life-threatening. --Late last night, three people sustained non-life-threatening injuries in a shooting on Dubois Street. No one was arrested. Dubois Street was also the site of another non-fatal gunshot wound back in July. --Two men died yesterday in a single-engine plane crash in Mansfield.......

A C-Line trolley hit a flatbed truck on Beacon Street this morning. The collision caused the truck to flip onto its side, where it straddled the tracks like a hooker for several hours. Newly minted BU students traveling between St. Mary's and Coolidge Corner got a crash course in T Shuttle Bus 101. Other commuters rued the Day that Mr. Trucky Didn't Yield as traffic gridlocked all the way to Cleveland Circle. According the......

Yet another Massachusetts resident has died in Iraq. Jeremy Bouffard of Middlefield was one of the soldiers killed in Wednesday's Black Hawk helicopter crash in northern Iraq. Bouffard, 21, was married and had a son. He was in the 25th Infantry Division. The crash killed 14 soldiers in all. The military says that mechanical problems were the cause.......

Story time. It's early 2001 at a snowy New England college campus. Collegiate-Aged Bostonist takes in a set by San Francisco-based Matt Nathanson in the campus student center. It is Nathanson's birthday and Sister Helen Prejean (of "Dead Man Walking" fame) is also appearing on campus. Did we mention that this is a Catholic college? Nathanson winds up performing a very, very intimate two sets and, we imagine, having a pretty sucky birthday. But Bostonist......

Jason Bailey may have been chasing the car that eventually crashed into a tree on Blue Hill Avenue and Callender Street yesterday morning. That crash killed a passenger, 18-year-old Porsche Hubbard, and injured the female driver, a 10-year-old girl, and a baby. The DA's office announced that 28-year-old Bailey, of Mattapan, was arrested and charged for the crime yesterday, and he is being held on $100,000 bail. That announcement says that Bailey was allegedly vicious......

--A deadly car crash happened early this morning on Blue Hill Avenue. One person died, and three people, including a child and a baby, went to the hospital in critical condition. The baby was in a car seat, but it was thrown from the car. Road rage allegedly caused the crash, and police have arrested 28-year-old Jason Bailey. He is being charged with "Leaving the Scene Personal Injury, Leaving Scene resulting in One Death, Operating......

--A woman drowned in Jamaica Pond yesterday night. The BPD has identified her as 43-year-old DeAngela Fuller. Her young son was on the shore and saw her go into the water. Her boyfriend, who had stepped away on an errand, called 911. Firefighters pulled her from the water, but she died at the hospital. While it may be tempting, people are not supposed to swim at the pond – it is 53 feet deep. The......

Correction: We had an image of James Albrecht, which we put in our standard top left (or right) corner for the Blotter. We've replaced it with crime-scene tape. As a commenter pointed out, the image and the headline have nothing to do with each other, and the positioning might cause someone to mix up the stories, so we replaced it. Apologies for any confusion. --The hunt is on for a man who raped a 67-year-old......

--The shootings of five people, including a 9-year-old girl, that took place in two different places in Mattapan on Saturday night may be related. Commish Ed Davis, who has been especially busy lately, referenced possible gang activity. The 9-year-old got shot in the back. In sheer coincidence, one of the shootings interrupted yet another birthday party. We're not sure why birthday parties have gotten so dangerous, but some gun-toting, allegedly birthday-hating thug(s) popped off and......

--Why can't we just have a light day with the Bonbon Bandit instead of the carnage that has filled the Blotter as of late? Last night, a 9-year-old got shot in a house in Mattapan. Two teenagers were found shot outside. A party was going on at the time, which raises the question of what a 9-year-old was doing at the party and the even more important question of what guns were doing at the......

At 7:30 this morning, two MBTA commuter ferries, "Massachusetts" and "Laura," collided in the Reserved Channel. Neither boat took on water and no one was hurt. "Massachusetts," headed from Hingham to Boston, carried 171 passengers. Only four crew members were on "Laura," which was making the return trip from Boston to Hingham. The reverse commute to Hingham in the morning is a lonely one. According to Coast Guard Petty Officer Zach Zubricki, the crash is......

It's summer, and summer likely means a trip to Cape Cod at some point. If you're planning to go, you might want to think about driving because the latest news about flights to the Cape scares us. Cape Air cancelled flights through yesterday to this afternoon because engines have failed three times. Here's the details on the failures from the Globe: The decision to shut down the airlines was made after two engine failures over......

Trevor Corson will read from The Zen of Fish: The Story of Sushi, from Samurai to Supermarket at Harvard Book Store, tomorrow, Wednesday, June 13, at 6:30 pm. Trevor Corson couldn't have timed the arrival of The Zen of Sushi any better, at least where Boston is concerned. With the arrival of Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideki "Hero in the Dark" Okajima, and their media entourage, Bostonians who previously eschewed sushi might be giving the raw-fish treat......

--Yesterday, authorities thwarted a terror plot that targeted a jet fuel pipeline at New York's JFK airport. There's no sign of a link between the JFK Plot and Logan, but Boston displayed its usual swift response to the slightest whiff of terror. So we're not surprised that Logan boosted security. Here's what's changing: "The stepped-up patrols were inside airport facilities as well as outside gates, said [the director of corporate security for the Massachusetts Port......

--Some student pranksters are in big trouble at Holliston High School because they broke into the principal's office – and the school's computer system. They may face criminal charges, but other students are calling for a boycott of the graduation ceremonies if the students aren't allowed to walk. They're honor students, which probably caused the punishment to be worse. WHDH quoted one graduate of the school as saying, "If you're that smart, you should know......

--Is that a blanket? Is that a pillow? No, it's some random dude sleeping on your sofa! A woman in Hyannis found a stranger sleeping on her couch. He says he thought he was in his sister's house. He was charged with breaking and entering. --More details have emerged about the weekend crash that killed theMark frontman Paul Farris. Javier Morales, the driver who attempted to evade police, was driving with a suspended license at......

Paul Farris, the innocent bystander who died in this weekend's police-chase crash in Somerville, wasn't just a graduate of Tufts and an aspiring law student. He was also frontman of theMark, a local rock band that is reeling from the death. theMark's MySpace page covers the death, and they will be announcing memorial services later on the site. The cab driver and Farris' girlfriend, Katelyn Hoyt, are recovering in the hospital. The post announcing the......

Update: Reader Ron points to Davis Square Live Journal, which has numerous harrowing reports from local residents following the crash. Somerville News and WBZ are reporting that the man who died was in the taxi. His name was Paul Farris. He was only 23 and a recent graduate of Tufts. --The action isn't stopping in Somerville. After a bank robbery in which an employee was tied up and left in the basement, a wild early-morning......

No games last night of local interest. So let's take a spin around the country to see what's going on in the rest of the sporting world. We'll start in Arlington, Texas, where the Red Sox are about to begin a three-game set with the Rangers. Daisuke Matsuzaka goes tonight against Brandon McCarthy. Big D is still buzzing about this week's announcement that the Cowboys and their new stadium will host Super Bowl XLV in......

The complete game is a dying art in the States. In the age of relief specialists, managers tied to pitch counts, and Papelbon, there aren't a lot of occasions when a manager wants to leave his starter in any longer than necessary. And last night, in fact, Papelbon was warming up when the Sox blew the game open in the 8th, taking a 7-1 lead and giving Terry Francona an excuse to leave Daisuke in......