--One would think that Boston would be prepared to handle snow. But it isn't a good sign when headlines read "what went wrong." [Boston Globe] --It also isn't a good sign when kids don't get home until 11:30 pm because of the weather. [Boston Globe] --A mistrial has been declared in the second trial for Alexander Pring-Wilson, who was convicted of manslaughter for the 2003 stabbing of Michael Colono in Cambridge, but who was granted......

Jim McCue Book Launch Party Comedy Connection Faneuil Hall (T: Government Center) Sunday, December 16, 8:00 pm, $15 Free for veterans and military personnel Official Jim McCue Site AnySoldier.com The troops could use a lot from us right now, whether it be body armor or sunblock. But one local performer is using his specific talents to make the lives of the troops a little bit better. Comedian Jim McCue, who is also co-founder of the......

The Pentagon has announced that Army Specialist Christine M. Ndururi, 21, of Dracut, died on Tuesday. The military has stated the cause of death was an "unspecified illness." Her family wants to know what happened now because it was the first day of her first overseas mission. Her father told the Eagle-Tribune that she hadn't been sick: "I’m waiting for them to tell me what happened. She was not ill, unless she was ill after......

Next Food Network Star Auditions Tuesday, November 6, 2007, 11:00 am-4:00 pm Flat Iron Tapas Bar & Lounge, Bulfinch Hotel 107 Merrimack St., Boston More info Auditions are being held for a new season of The Next Food Network Star. Last time, the show plucked Tommy Grella from Methuen out of a lineup because of his oversized personality, body type, proportions, and ever-present stogie. Unfortunately, homesickness got the better of him, and he left early.......

Southland Tales Directed by Richard Kelly With Dwayne Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott Tonight, 9:15 p.m. Harvard Film Archives, Carpenter Center, 24 Quincy Street, Cambridge Tickets $8 for general public More information Tricky, Harvard, tricky! We've had Richard Kelly on the brain this week, thanks to A.R.T.'s world premiere of the stage adaptation of Kelly's 2001 flick "Donnie Darko." The Harvard Film Archive is ready to provide even more of the director's work......

The United States has a lot to be afraid of: the war in Iraq, the mortgage crisis, wildfires, the gulf between the haves and have nots, and Dick Cheney. But former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney thinks that the nation should really be afraid of Hillary Clinton. In an attempt to celebrate Halloween and trash an opponent at the same time, Mitt Romney told an audience in Iowa, "What do you think about Hillary's House of......

The Red Sox have been linked time and time again to reality television this season. There was "Sox Appeal," of course, but there were also calls for the jigging Jonathan Papelbon to Riverdance his way onto "Dancing With the Stars" and the segue FOX used last week to link the Boston bullpen band (the Black Pearl) to what looks like a God-awful new series, "The Next Great American Band." Sox bloggers, however, just might be......

While most colleges live and die by US News & World Report, the Washington Monthly is offering competition with what's really important--how much the students help the community when they get their diplomas. Here are the three criteria from the Monthly: The first is social mobility: does the school do a good job recruiting and graduating poorer students? The second is research: is the school supporting the scientific and humanistic study that is key to......

Lots of Romney news going around today … Former Massachusetts governor and presidential aspirant Mitt Romney had a bright idea--giving regular voters the chance to make his campaign commercials. The voters could paste together elements provided by Team Romney and their own ideas, and Team Romney has picked the top nine. The winning ad will air on television. Despite Romney's excellent grasp of cutting-edge technology, he put himself in a vulnerable position. Slate.com quickly assembled......

Glenn Marshall, Mashpee Wampanoag tribe leader and major force behind bringing casinos to Massachusetts, is leaving his position as chairman of the tribe council. He was caught lying about his military past and of hiding the fact that he was convicted of rape and cocaine possession. Peter Kenney at Cape Cod Today first smelled something funny about Marshall's military service. The Cape Cod Times reported that Marshall did not participate in the battle of Khe......

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.......

--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......

--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......

A team of MIT students and professors have completed the preliminary round in the Defense Advanced Recearch Projects Agency's Urban Challenge competition. Representatives from DARPA visited with the team and their vehicle to see if they would be one of the 30 teams of the current 53 who will compete in the semi-finals in October. From the Urban Challenge website: the Urban Challenge features autonomous ground vehicles maneuvering in a mock city environment, executing simulated......

UPDATE: From the AP: "US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday his agency will seek to "terminate" the deportation case against the wife of a Massachusetts soldier missing in Iraq so she can stay in the country and apply for permanent resident status." Unless we're mistaken, that sounds like Yaderlin Jimenez will be able to get her green card. Yesterday, word spread all over the Web that Yaderlin Jimenez, wife of missing......

The US government is considering deporting the wife of Alex Jimenez, the soldier from Lawrence who has been missing in Iraq since May 12. Jimenez is a citizen of the United States. His wife, Yaderlin, is not. She came here illegally from the Dominican Republic, and they married. She was in the process of getting a green card, but, according to WBZ, an immigration judge stopped the process when Alex Jimenez went missing. Her lawyer......

We hear Mitt Romney doesn't do caffeine. That's a Mormon thing, but it's not unusual – plenty of non-Mormons eschew caffeine. But there's more to the no-caffeine-Romney connection than dietary choices. Now that Romney has taken the lead in the New Hampshire polls, people are starting to wonder if he is the real deal – or if he's like caffeine-free Coca-Cola. --Whether he's the real deal or not, he's launching a soda-pop-worthy ad campaign and......

Sure, former Massachusetts governor and aspiring Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney tries to talk tough about boosting the military and creating a "double Gitmo," but people tend to get hung up on his pretty face. A satire in the Metro by Elliott Kalan spoofed the interest people have in his looks by saying, "Currently, each major party has a handsome man in the running: Democrat John Edwards and Republican Mitt Romney. The handsome bloc......

With L'Affaire Sharpton, L'Affaire Duck Hunt, and L'Affaire Hair, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is building quite a national reputation. It may not be the reputation he wants, but we think it might be time to start a weekly roundup of Mitt's exploits as he runs for president. --Romney claims that he's found religion – of sorts – when it comes to abortion. Even though he was pro-choice, and everyone knows he's pro-choice, and his......

No one has a more distinctive documentary style than Ken Burns. You know you're watching Burns when the screen goes sepia, when you hear period music, when you see long, slow pans of the camera over still photographs, and when you listen to famous actors squeeze every last emotion out of old letters. Burns, who already covered the Civil War, is back with "The War," a 14-hour documentary on how World War II affected the......

"The art of war" usually refers to Sun Tzu's military treatise from the 6th century BC, sometimes refers to Machiavelli's book, a fim starring Wesley Snipes released in 2000, or even a Bone Thugs albubm. The MFA isn't using the recognizable term (and obvious pun) for the exhibition that opened today, they're taking a little different approach to the art they're presenting and the title it has been given: War and Discontent. The new installation......

--The gang who couldn't shoot straight has struck again, and a five-year-old boy was the victim of their error. A family stopped in Dorchester at Harbor Point and was driving to Malden when someone thought they were suspicious, enemies, wearing the wrong colors, whatever. So they started shooting at the car on I-93 near the Zakim Bridge. These individuals hit the little kid in the backseat. He is now in fair condition at the hospital......

--A massive immigration bust went down yesterday in New Bedford. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rounded up illegal immigrants who were working for Michael Bianco, Inc., a leather manufacturer involved with producing leather vests and backpacks for US military. You would think that, given all the talk about illegal immigration in the United States, the government might bother to check on the companies they hire to make sure they don't hire illegal immigration. But, beyond......

The Host will screen at Remis Auditorium at the MFA at 7:45 pm. The jewel in the crown of the MFA's Korean Film Festival is – surprise! – a monster movie. The plot reads like a standard monster mash in which a Seoul family must save a little girl from a mutant beast. However, the story starts when an American military officer dumps formaldehyde into the water supply, and political satire unfolds. The Globe raved......

Tonight the State of the Union speech will be delivered in our nation's capital. While we're hitting the booze and playing the State of the Union drinking game, the media will talk about possible ramifications of the President's statements. But the focus has already started to shift from the current commander-in-chief to who's going to take over his job. The Democratic field of contenders is growing fast. Below you'll find Bostonist's guide to the field......

MIT researchers have developed a prototype for land-mine detection. Unlike the bulky machines we've seen used before that set off the mines as they sweep the landscape these machines use sound to pinpoint the location of a mine. The prototype if employed could prove an effective mechanism in defeating abandoned land-mines. Robert W. Haupt, a technical staff member at Lincoln Lab, explores innovative ways to find and reduce the large number of land mines abandoned......

Does signing to a major label change everything? Many longtime fans of the Portland, Oregon-based band The Decemberists wondered if the group's decision to sign with Capitol Records to release their fourth full-length album would serve to tone down everything that drew indie fans to them in the first place: the quirky lyrics, the range of song subject matter (from prostitutes to mariners), and the group's unabashed fondness for obscure literary and historical allusions. The......

After the painfully boring debates which marked the 2004 Presidential campaign, the nation became aware that John Kerry wasn't the most interesting of orators - at times even coming off as a little pompous. Massachusetts voters have known this for years. Occasionally Kerry will deliver a joke, well crafted for his use by writers, and it will work. National and international attention is being given to one of those instances when that didn't work out......

The new and improved (?) Supreme Court dropped a decision yesterday that has a ton of relevance to the Boston area, ruling that it is constitutional for Congress to require law schools to give access to military recruiters, even if the schools have a general policy banning employers who, like the military, discriminate against homosexuals. The law schools' theory was that a rule requiring them to let bigots on campus forced them to endorse the......

The funny thing about Massachusetts politics, Bostonist has found, is that even when we are distracted by exciting stuff like the repatriation of accused murderers/internet smut-peddlers/would-be patrons of escort services, the internecine squabbles keep cooking along. So as you spend the long weekend in reverent remembrance of Presidents Washington and Lincoln, don't forget that today is also the 385th anniversary of the election of the first military captain of Plymouth Colony. With that in mind,......