--A three-alarm fire broke out at an apartment complex in Framingham yesterday afternoon. Three firefighters and three residents of the complex went to the hospital for minor injuries. [Boston Globe] --Two children died in a tragic fire in Holyoke on Thursday. Allegedly, a 6-year-old boy was playing with a lighter in his home, starting a fire that killed his 4-year-old brother and 9-month-old sister. [Boston Globe] --The pilot who was grounded after breaking away from......

--The investigation into why a commuter rail train crashed into a loose boxcar in Canton, injuring 150, is turning toward brakes not being set on a car at a lumberyard in Stoughton. Also, even if the train was on the loose, "The car should have been stopped by a derailing device where the siding meets the main track. A source close to the investigation said the derailing device worked properly when tested Wednesday morning......

Books Sarah Boxer bravely prowled through the blogosphere to share its treasures with us in Ultimate Blogs. Of course, Go Fug Yourself makes the list. Brattle Theatre (via Harvard Book Store), 6:00 pm, $5. Edit: Event has been moved to Harvard Book Store --If you've been reading Bostonist for a while, you might know how we feel about the potential of wind power. A while ago, we read this barnburner of a book about......

ImprovBoston is, well, getting a little closer to Boston by getting closer to the T. They are almost ready to open their new location right by the Central Square T stop, next door to The Field. From now until the 9th, ImprovBoston shows will happen at Durrell Hall at the Central Square YMCA. The new ImprovBoston opens on the 15th. And the Funny Money Capital Campaign, which is raising money for the move, continues. ImprovBoston......

Cloverfield whupped on its competition at the box office this weekend and set a record for January. As Reel Hub noted on Friday, people couldn't decide if they loved it or hated it, which means the movie was at least interesting. 27 Dresses seemed like the kind of movie Julia Roberts would have turned down back in the days when she was shooting all those bridal movies like Runaway Bride and My Best Friend's Wedding.......

Old folks, church-robbin', and pregnancy: these are a few of our favorite things. That is, if you judge by the top box office movies. The Bucket List, First Sunday (Ice CUBE!), and Juno have been keeping butts in theatre seats across the nation. But these fine (?) films will be gettin' a run for their money, or tickets, by 27 Dresses, Cloverfield, and Mad Money. 27 Dresses, though (shockingly!) panned, takes the pregnancy theme of......

Boston is a college town, and right about now it's chock full of stressed-out students who've just finished finals and are looking forward to a few weeks of rejuvenation at home--whether home's here or somewhere less disgustingly cold. Since student types--or at least those of us not able to borrow Daddy's black AmEx on a whim--tend to be dirt poor, they're relatively easy to please. Still, there's always that relative who gives out homemade doilies......

--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......

--A new company, FlexPetz, will let you rent a dog for a few hours so you can enjoy canine companionship without getting up in the cold to walk the critter. Wouldn't it be great if you could just rent human companionship for a few hours? Oh, wait. That's illegal. Nevermind. [Boston Globe] --Wondering why there are so many kids running around today? Seventy drivers called in sick or took a personal day today, and about......

I Am Legend raked in the money, as expected. The public loves Will Smith, they love special effects, they love cute dogs, and I Am Legend gave audiences what they wanted. Peter Keough at the Phoenix went so far as to say that the dog in I Am Legend was his "favorite animal character of the year." As a result, the movie made an obscene $76.5 million on its opening weekend. Believe it or not,......

--Police arrested another person who was allegedly involved in the murder of Revere police officer Daniel Talbot in September. WBZ reports that 17-year-old Gia Nagy was charged with being an Accessory to Murder After the Fact. --The Brookline TAB announced that the Brookline PD will hold a community meeting about the rise of sexual assaults in the area on Thursday, December 20, at 7:30 pm, at the station on 350 Washington. The meeting will be......

Ahhh … BPD News is back. However, somebody hit "Publish" a few times, and the "Daily Incidents for Wednesday, December 12" appears several times. No matter, welcome back! And how could we resist a headline like "Do You Want to Tell the Police This?" A man marched into Roxbury B-2 on Wednesday night to tell police that he took a ride in an illegal cab. While in the cab, he and a friend decided to......

Be There: Chase the Rising Sun Opening Saturday, December 15, 7:00-9:30 pm Exhibition runs from December 15 to January 15 LAB Boston, 13 Brighton Avenue, Allston Free Birdhead Design website Michael Crigler is primarily known as a fashion designer and artist. He makes clothes for his Birdhead line and is having an opening this weekend at LAB, but this opening is also a farewell party. Crigler and his wife, Lauren, are going on a trip......

Santa Speedo Run Saturday, December 15, 1:00 pm Lir, 903 Boylston, Boston Run goes down Boylston to Berkeley and back up Newbury Official Site For some reason, people are compelled to prove their strength by taking off their clothes in winter and running around, displaying their pasty, quivering flash to one and all. (Tufts, we're talking to you.) But the people participating in the 8th annual Santa Speedo Run are stripping down to their skivvies......

Just when we got our hopes up that Mayor Thomas Menino had forgotten about his plans to move City Hall to South Boston, he declared yesterday that the move is still very much on his mind. Jay Fitzgerald reported that Menino spoke at a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce breakfast yesterday, and he said that he'd like to sell the current City Hall space at Government Center and then use the money to move.......

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is gaining appeal among Republicans thanks to his hard-right views, his ability to lose weight, and Chuck Norris. Obviously, this has former Massachusetts governor and presidential aspirant Mitt Romney thoroughly freaked out because Romney has spent boodles of money and has less to show for it. All Huckabee had to do was lose weight and gain an action star. Hence, Romney has unleashed an attack ad. However, we think Romney......

Harvard is putting all the money it has (see: "Harvard's Rich, Bitches!") to some truly good use by expanding financial aid packages to students. Here's the details from the AP: The university said it would replace all loans with grants, and spend up to $22 million more annually on aid, mostly targeting middle- and upper-middle class students. Families earning under $60,000 already pay nothing to attend the world’s richest university, with an endowment of nearly......

The Holiday season is in full swing in NYC, with holiday lights in Brooklyn, a giant snow globe in Bryant Park and Chanukah specials for ham. One citizen decided to go vigilante on annoying car alarms, a murder suspect used a fake Asian accent on the stand and a video of a man being beaten up by teenage girls on a subway shocked the city. And we interviewed soon-to-be-leaving-Gawker editor Choire Sicha, who said,......

--This week, Spatch revealed that he has been living with a celebrity and has been hiding it from the world all this time. [Derspatchel] --Joel Brown is puzzled over the Attorney General's decision that the Citi Center was "generally consistent" with other charities when it came to the money it gave to its CEO. [HubArts] --Men will soon have access to Manolos. And the leopard-print sandals are insane! [On Common Ground] --Carrying your own bag......

--The Blotter usually focuses on how people get to jail, but not what happens to people when they get there. The Globe has launched a series about an outbreak of prison suicides, and the authors conclude that the suicides may be the result of "careless errors and dangerous decisions by correction officials and staff at UMass Correctional Health." Why is it important to think about what happens to criminals' mental health in prison? Because most......

--Another snowstorm is on its way and is expected to have its greatest impact tonight. [WCVB] --Speaking of snow, Bostonist has the temperature and weather-condition icons at the top left of the home page. If you click on that icon, you'll get all the latest weather news. --People got cold in order to protest the heat of global warming during yesterday's Polar Bear Plunge in Concord. [AP/Globe] --Patriots owner Robert Kraft is partnering with......

Evolution is on trial again. A former postdoctoral fellow at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has sued the Cape Cod research center, claiming his 2004 dismissal resulted from his religious beliefs. Nathaniel Abraham was dismissed from Mark Hahn's research lab after refusing to work on the "evolutionary aspects" of his assigned project, according to the Globe. Hahn is a senior research scientist known for studying the effects of toxins on aquatic animals, using a hybrid......

Benefits for Jeanne Sheehy December 6--Tonight!: B.O.D., Willie T & Dr. X, Doug McDonald Band, Roger Fisk, Country Doctors, Wide Iris, The Delusions, The Outlets. Show starts at 8:45 pm. December 21: Jonny Pape, Auto Interiors, Joyce & Chick of Scarce, Downbeat 5, AdFrank, The Pills, The Shods. Show starts at 9:05 pm. December 28: Jules Verdone, The Douglas Fir, Baker, Francine, The Gravel Pit. Show starts at 9:10 pm. December 29: Keys to the......

In October, Boston University threw down the gauntlet and declared plans to expand. Now, Boston College is one-upping BU with expansion plans of its own. BC's expansion plan rivals that of BU. BU said it would put in $1.8 billion, and BC has announced that it will spend $1.6 billion. The BC Heights reports that the money will go to construction and renovation, and 100 new faculty members will be hired. The rest will go......

During a dustup over illegal immigration at the CNN/YouTube Republican debate, Rudy Giuliani said of former Massachusetts governor and presidential aspirant Mitt Romney: "There was even a sanctuary mansion. At his own home, illegal immigrants were being employed." Turns out he wasn't just being bitchy. He was right. Not only did Romney employ illegal immigrants in the past, but the Globe broke the news that he employed them right up to this day. The......

That's right; we almost had to go in the closets for a rare winter activation of the Panic Button. The Patriots were struggling on offense, dropping passes left and right. The defense really struggled, allowing Raven Willis McGahee to run amok for three quarters. Don Shula was up in the booth with corkscrew in hand. But somehow, the game stayed close. And Tom Brady had a chance to go up the field with 3:30 to......

--Where have all the gay bars gone? Robert David Sullivan writes that we should be concerned about their disappearance: "In the Boston area, many of Harvard Square's bookstores, Kenmore Square's student eateries, and myriad other places that guaranteed a diverse urban experience have closed their doors, replaced by a far more uniform lineup of bank branches, chain stores, and upscale restaurants." A must-read. [Boston Globe] --If you haven't noticed with the cold temperatures and long......

Here’s a novel idea: if a music scene wants to prove its relevancy through an award show, why doesn’t that scene put in some effort? Boston’s ties to regional, up-and-coming, and national talent were on clear display Saturday evening at the Orpheum Theatre, as the 2007 Boston Music Awards honored many a bold-faced musical name. Metal poster boys Killswitch Engage took home Act of the Year accolades, while critical darlings Lori McKenna and Martin Sexton......

Thanks to a glut of turkey and leftovers, Bostonist has been unable to fit into our fancy clothes--or our Project Runway review schedule--for the past few weeks. But thanks to some long sessions on the elliptical, we're all zipped up and back on track to follow Heidi's proteges all the way down the catwalk. Last week, Sarah Jessica Parker showed up--graciously refraining from grossing us out with an overly Carrie outfit--and asked the designers to......

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......