--The search for the Northeastern student who had been missing since the day after the Super Bowl has ended. BPD detectives tracked him to Paris, France, and he has now contacted his parents to let him know that he is well. He better bring some baguettes back for his parents and the BPD. [BPD News] --A South End woman and her friend allegedly lured a Brockton man back from a nightclub to her apartment,......

Despite costing us the Super Bowl, Boston is Mayor Tom Menino's city to lose. Given relative peace and prosperity, and the incredible challenge of defeating an incumbent, Menino will likely decide when and how his tenure as mayor comes to an end. Still, a rival politician can dream. The Globe today details three people who are weighing a run for mayor in 2009: --City Councilor at Large Michael Flaherty, 38, who's been having low-key......

James McBride, Song Yet Sung Friday, February 8, 2008 7:00 p.m. St. James Episcopal Church 1991 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02140 Sponsored by Porter Square Books In an interview with Time magazine following her 1988 Pulitzer Prize win, Toni Morrison described thinking of Beloved as "the least read of all the books I'd written because it is about something that the characters don't want to remember, I don't want to remember, black people don't want......

--Bostonist hasn't seen a "flagrant foul," or a sports-related blotter entry, in some time. The bad situation that was the Super Bowl loss just got worse for New England Patriots defensive back Willie Andrews, who was busted driving an unregistered car and having pot on him in Lowell. If it had happened to anyone one else, on any other day, no one would have cared. But the Herald points out that Andrews has a record.......

While chants of "Fired up! Ready to go!" echoed through the World Trade Center, Massachusetts political heavy-weights rallied behind the historic presidential bid of Senator Barack Obama. Senator Kerry's introduction spoke of experience that comes from "wisdom, instinct, gut, and courage - not age" and he stated that "history gives us moments and we must decide what to do with them." When Senator Obama finally took the stage he quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.......

Two episodes of CMT's "Gone Country" have already aired, and Bobby Brown is on his way to becoming a country-music star, of sorts. Bostonist wasn't sure about watching because the show is in Nashville, not Boston, but Bostonist couldn't resist seeing Boston's bad boy on another reality show. And "Gone Country" doesn't disappoint for sheer weirdness. Bobby Brown isn't the only one aiming for country music stardom. Dee Snider, Carnie Wilson, Diana DiGarmo, Maureen McCormick,......

Star Simpson, the MIT student whose light-up T-shirt caused a panic when she wore it to Logan Airport, appeared in court today. She asked for the charges to be dropped because the shirt was a form of free speech and that she had worn it days before without it causing a problem. Here's the update from the AP/WBZ: Thomas Dwyer Jr., a lawyer for Simpson, said his client didn't think her shirt would scare anyone.......

blue socks reminds us that Martin Luther King Jr. Day is about remembering the spirit of a great man, not just enjoying a day off from work.......

Famous people visit Harvard all the time, but the university announced that two equally well-known, yet quite different, women would be visiting soon. JK Rowling will be speaking at commencement, and the Harvard Lampoon will honor Paris Hilton on February 6. You'd think that Harry Potter creator JK Rowling and socialite Paris Hilton would have nothing in common, but you'd be surprised … Let's start with the obvious. Both are blonde. Both have an......

--Yet another explanation for why you should have a sinking feeling in your tummy any time you go over a bridge in Massachusetts. [Boston Herald] --Another storm is expected for Friday, but it's not prompting the mass freakout that the last storm did. [WBZ] --The city of Boston will build a statue that honors Martin Luther King, Jr., and his wife, Coretta Scott King. [AP/Boston Globe] --The Committee on Children, Families, and Individuals With......

Even though the guys who held up the "Iron My Shirt" sign during a Hillary Clinton campaign speech were determined to be pranksters from Boston station WBCN, people are still pissed at Adolfo Gonzalez Jr. and intern Nick Gemelli from WBCN's "Toucher & Rich" show. Apparently Gonzalez had several jokes up his sleeve when he was escorted out. The NY Daily News reported that Gonzalez told a reporter that his name was "Hugh Jas." Wonder......

While on Meet the Press, when Tim Russert wasn't waving flip-flops in his face, Mitt Romney got teary when recalling the time in 1978 when he learned the Mormon church would accept black people. Some news outlets focused on the crying, such as the Boston Herald and Boston Daily. (At least one black Mormon wasn't impressed with the show because Romney didn't apologize for the church's discrimination.) Bostonist shrugged and figured all politicians have......

Ethan Gilsdorf and Ted Weesner, Jr. Friday, December 14, 7:00 pm Willoughby and Baltic Art Space 195 G Elm Street, Somerville (T: Davis Square) Free Ethan Gilsdorf's official site Listings for readings may be slim while everyone is busy for the holidays, but it's quality that matters. Two recipients of fellowships from the Somerville Arts Council will be sharing their latest projects for free tomorrow night. Journalist/poet Ethan Gilsdorf and novelist Ted Weesner, Jr., are......

--A woman who was pregnant with twins was shot in the back last night in Mattapan. Police are saying the 22-year-old was shot through her apartment window. The woman is now in stable condition. The Herald adds that Police Commissioner Ed Davis went to the scene and that It was unclear last night whether the woman was targeted by someone she knew or whether she was a victim of a bizarre act of random violence.......

The more we hear about Leeland Eisenberg, the disturbed man who took hostages at Hillary Clinton's campaign quarters in Rochester, NH, the more amazing it is that a) he wasn't already in jail and b) that he wasn't able to get help sooner. In an interview with the AP, Eisenberg said he wished the police had killed him. He also told the AP how he came up with the idea: "I'd see things on TV......

Michele McPhee, Boston's queen bee of crime reporting, is jumping from the Herald to a full-time slot at WTKK. Boston Daily landed the scoop confirming what two of Boston's most reliable mediawatchers, Dan Kennedy of Media Nation and Adam Reilly of the Phoenix, heard. From Joe Keohane at Boston Daily: "Sources close to McPhee confirm this, and add that she’s taken a full-time gig at WTKK-FM and ditched daily journalism altogether." What will the Herald......

Leeland Eisenberg has been named as the man who took staffers hostage yesterday at Hillary Clinton's campaign headquarters in Rochester, NH. He was already a man on the edge when he took the hostages. According to an AP report, his wife was divorcing him, and he was "due in court with her for a domestic violence hearing." He had a record for drunk driving and domestic violence, and he was involved in an odd incident......

--Paul F. Ware Jr., the special prosecutor looking into the Big Dig has cost the state $1 million so far. Maybe, if the AG's office actually gets around to getting some money out of Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, they can foot the bill. [Boston Globe] --More gratuitous limos and tour buses in New Hampshire! Oprah's coming to town to campaign for Obama! She'll be in Manchester, NH, on December 9. [WBZ] --The Worcester Telegram & Gazette gets......

Who would have thought former Massachusetts governors Mitt Romney and Michael Dukakis would have anything in common beside the name of the state they once led? Unfortunately for Romney, he is now being dogged by accusations that a decision he made led to the murder of innocent people. In an incident that echoes when Dukakis approved a furlough for prisoner Willie Horton, who assaulted a couple in Maryland while he was out, Romney appointed Kathe......

On Saturday night at the Paradise, UMass alums Dinosaur Jr. brought their intense melodies and insane guitar work back to Boston for the first time since the release of their latest album, Beyond. For a show featuring dudes old enough to be your dad, it rocked much harder than most indie bands do today. Satisfying both longtime fans now in their forties (or beyond), twentysomethings who felt the pain in middle school, and XX-handed minors......

--Spectacular photos of Matt Damon in 2005, brought back in honor of Damon's selection as People's "Sexiest Man Alive." [Lolita Parker Jr., who also did the great "Escape From MBTA" pictures] --The secret to Dane Cook's success is simple. [Derspatchel] --How to make your own turducken--if you dare! [Menu Pages] --Wolf Blitzer gets savaged after the Democrats debated in Las Vegas. [Blue Mass Group] --We're bad about typos because we're slobs without a copyeditor. Surely,......

--Another man has been arrested for impersonating a police officer, this time in Cambridge. Alixson Marc, 21, was chasing three men on Mass Ave early in the morning on November 6. He sported a badge and a police radio. Does the Romney campaign have any openings? --A recently fired employee returned to his former place of work in North Andover and started shooting this morning. Robert Hassam, Jr., 25, of Lawrence, fired on employees of......

--A Boston judge sentenced three cocaine dealers yesterday and then told them that, after they serve their time, they will not be allowed to move back to the city for 12 years. According to the Herald, 19-year-old Amos Carasquillo of Mattapan, 26-year-old Nathan Garrasteguy of Roxbury, and 21-year-old Louis Garcia Jr. of Roxbury have 60 arrests among them. Besides those guys, eleven gang members have been rounded up in the past few weeks. --Last night,......

--Police Commissioner Edward Davis has reacted to the information that corruption in the Boston Police Department might have extended beyond former officer Roberto Pulido and his sketchy crew. He even put a video on YouTube declaring that he will investigate the allegations. He said, "I will continue to press for the strictest sanctions against police corruption so that the excellent police work that I see every day from our officers will not be tarnished."......

--Police have arrested a teenager who was only 14 years old when he killed 41-year-old Michael Hansbury on Monson Street in June of this year. The DA's Office writes, "Officers spoke with witnesses who stated that they observed an individual step up to the victim and assault him. Witnesses further stated the victim subsequently fell to the ground, hitting his head on the sidewalk." Hansbury died of the head injury. When the incident happened, the......

--A man and his mother were shot while riding in a car yesterday in Dorchester. The Globe reports that Darnell Ricks Jr., 20, was hit in the arm, and his mother "appeared to have been grazed in the face by a bullet." Police have a detailed description of the alleged perps: "They were looking for three black males who appeared to be in their late teens and about 5 feet 8 inches tall. One wore......

--What at least one tv station thought was a gasoline heist (hey, it's expensive) turned out to be the result of a mistaken delivery. WHDH reported that employees saw someone in a Lukoil truck and uniform delivering gas last night to the Lukoil on Bennington Street. Upon further inspection, they found that the individual had allegedly absconded with $19,000 worth of gas. Police started making calls and found that "Further investigation revealed that the gas......

Singer and Boston native Bobby Brown, who never met a reality show he didn't like, is going to star on Country Music Television's "Gone Country," in which he joins fellow semi-celebs in the pursuit of country music stardom. Given Brown's gift for generating shocking television, the country-music element isn't the big news. What's important is that Brown will be training for Grand Old Opry greatness alongside Twisted Sister's Dee Snider, Sisqo, Carnie Wilson, Diana DeGarmo,......

Photographer and blogger Lolita Parker Jr. was on the scene when fed-up and overheated MBTA passengers broke out of a Red Line train stuck on the Longfellow Bridge during Friday's Park Street Station fire. The following image says a lot of good about Bostonians helping each other. It doesn't say as much about the T, which has some 'splainin' to do. Image courtesy of Lolita Parker Jr. More pictures of the incident are available on......

OK, we're as excited as anyone about the first game of the Boston-Anaheim ALDS. We'll get to that in a second. But let's begin by trying to imagine how thick the tension must have been within a conference room in the catacombs of Fenway Park recently, when Theo Epstein allowed Dan Shaughnessy to sit down and talk baseball. Seriously! After the columns and the gorilla suit, the jabs and the barbs, this was a matchup......