-- Boston police shot a 23-year-old man on the Boston Common yesterday afternoon, after the man allegedly aimed a fake gun at officers. Shawn Craig of Boston led police on a chase through the crowded common, past scores of Bostonians relaxing in the park after work. Police say they had stopped Craig on the suspicion that he had outstanding warrants. At some point during the chase, Craig aimed a pellet gun designed to look like......

--An MBTA bus struck a pregnant woman and her 2-year-old child after the child ran into Washington Street last night. Their injuries are non-life-threatening. [WBZ] --In light of the traveling carnival mishap in California, the state of Massachusetts will be inspecting all Yo-Yo rides. The mere name "Yo-Yo Ride" makes us queasy. [Boston Globe] --This isn't a crime, but it is embarrassing. A New Bedford police officer didn't unload his weapon before a safety......

--So, Hazmat teams are supposed to be super-serious and careful. But we love the fact that they use a kiddie pool. [Image from Sandcastlematt] --Hazmat Kiddie Pool should be the name of a new band. Seriously. Someone call Have You Heard of My New Band? Now. --The State House was evacuated earlier because of a false alarm resulting from a light bulb that burst. [WBZ] --Students at the Nazarene Christian Academy of New Bedford,......

-- A New Bedford woman who was set on fire last December has finally fingered her attackers. Police have taken two suspects -- one a former boyfriend of the victim -- into custody. A third is wanted on a warrant. The victim had been assaulted in her apartment, where she was doused with rubbing alcohol and set ablaze, police say. She suffered burns over her entire body. [WBZ TV] -- A mistrial was declared in......

-- A Malden teen was shot in Somerville last night, the victim of an apparent drive-by shooting. The 15 year old was shot in the lung and is expected to survive. Police are seeking four suspects in the crime, last seen driving a green Dodge Stratus. [WBZTV; Somerville Journal] -- A domestic incident in Roxbury turned ugly last night, as police officers responded to a call from a man under threat from his ex-girlfriend. After......

--It seems like the only time news from Brockton reaches Boston outlets is when someone gets killed. That's true today as the Globe reports that a 15-year-old male was killed there when his 18-year-old friend's gun discharged. The Globe notes that the shooting, "...took place about an hour after Gov. Deval Patrick came to Brockton to laud local and state police for a surge of officers that had prevented any shootings since mid-February." [original......

-- Police report that a Somerville woman, aged 28, attacked her roommate, trapped her in their house, and set fire to the building. [Somerville Journal] -- A North Cambridge man who was found shot in front of his house early on Tuesday may face his own set of charges. Police say they found "a large amount" of marijuana and a sawed-off shotgun in the man's home. Nobody has been charged in connection with his shooting......

--It doesn't get much worse than this. A 26-year-old New Bedford man, who has already served four years for a similar crime, is accused of raping a six-year-old in a library just steps from where the child's mother was using a computer. The suspect was released from jail in 2006 "despite objections from prosecutors and three psychologists." [Boston Herald] --Che Sosa, who was already serving 55 years on multiple rape counts and for infamously......

-- Breaking: Police have arrested a suspect in the March 6 double stabbing at the Roxbury Crossing Orange Line station. MBTA police apprehended an 18 year-old Roxbury man on the platform of the Jackson Square station this afternoon. Authorities say the arrest follows five days of close cooperation between Transit, Boston, and State Police. -- It was a painful case for two alleged South Boston drug runners. Last night, a Boston Neighborhood Drug Unit raided......

We were in Detroit for the weekend, and the most frequently asked questions about Boston were "What happened in the Super Bowl?" and "Is that Big Dig thing finally finished?" The latter is easier to answer: No. The Globe reports today--months after the official ending--that there are some 2,000 tasks of varying importance that have yet to be completed by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority's contractors. The MTA says that while the Big Dig is functional......

--Five men were arrested for the stabbing death of Terrence Jacobs, 16, last May. Everyone arrested is from Dorchester, except one man from Brockton. [Boston Globe] --In a follow-up to the case in which a man stabbed his ex to death, stabbed another woman 8 times, bit a man, and then stabbed himself to death in New Bedford, Jane Doe Inc. notes that the incident marks the sixth domestic violence homicide in Massachusetts this year.......

--Two people were killed in a brutal murder-suicide in New Bedford yesterday. A man stabbed a woman with a steak knife before stabbing himself to death. The man also went after the woman's roommates, stabbing one and biting another. [Boston Globe] --Che Sosa, a convicted rapist who is notorious for attacking his own defense attorney in the courtroom with a knife, returned to court yesterday. This time, he was accompanied by well-armed and well-covered guards......

--A 35-year-old man was shot to death last night in Dorchester. [Boston Globe] --A 22-year-old woman whose brother was killed four months ago was "shot in the chest in broad daylight" yesterday afternoon near her home in Mattapan. Neighbors told the Globe similar incidents had happened there before. [Boston Herald, Boston Globe] --Two men were shot, one of them fatally, while sitting in a car in New Bedford on Sunday morning. [WHDH] --The BPD arrested......

--A suspect was arrested in the shooting death of a man in a Lawrence restaurant last night. The suspect took a cab to the crime scene, committed the murder, and then took the same cab home, making it pretty easy for police to find him. [WCVB] --The BPD is asking women to be cautious after two women accepted rides and were eventually assaulted in Charlestown. Police feel the incidents are linked. [WHDH] --A man accused......

--The Boston Police Department and the DA's Office are investigating the death of an inmate at the Suffolk County House of Correction. 41-year-old Darryl Lee Leslie died on New Year's Eve while being moved to maximum security because he was, according to a jail spokesman, "planning a violent attack." An autopsy is being performed. [Boston Globe] --A 15-year-old who was shot in the stomach at a New Year's Eve party in New Bedford has since......

Boston Latino International Film Festival Howard Thurman Center at Boston University 775 Commonwealth Ave October 19-21 Free! [ Schedule ] BLIFF may sound like bluff, but we're not bluffing when we say that the Boston Latino International Film Festival has some fine films (shorts, documentaries, full-length features, and more) coming up in this final weekend of the festival's 6th year running. Titles include Bragging Rights: Stickball Stories, Immigrant Reflections: Three Boston College Service Workers......

--The teenager who shot Pop Warner football coach Myron Stovell in the leg during a football practice was supposed to be under 24-hour electronic surveillance. According to the Herald, the surveillance was instituted two weeks ago. How hard is it to follow up on that sort of thing? Aren't people supposed to get suspicious when the signal doesn't turn on or doesn't move? The family of the teenager who was arrested for the shooting told......

--Walter Tyler, 27, disappeared on Monday while riding a ferry between New Bedford and Martha's Vineyard. Tyler is a Navy vet, and his family says that a) he's a good swimmer and b) he didn't seem like the type to jump off the ferry. --In Plymouth, a man and a woman were taken to hospitals last night after the Jeep Grand Cherokee they were in drove off a boat ramp and into Plymouth Harbor. They......

--Why toss a bucket of paint on a richie's fur coat when you can stop furs at the source? In Hinsdale on Monday, someone set about 400 to 500 mink who were destined to become pricey furs free from a farm. That's a lot of mink to let loose! The owner of Berkshire Furs is naturally blaming the "antifur people." No one's been caught yet, and the owner said the animals wouldn't be able to......

--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......

--In Framingham on Tuesday night, a robber used Devil Dogs as part of his strategy when stealing from the Stop & Shop. Emanuel Goffigan got into line and "began waving" a pack of Devil Dogs. Then, when the cashier opened the drawer of her cash machine, he pounced on it, got the money, and ran. We're not exactly sure where the Devil Dogs fit because he could have jumped on the drawer at any time,......

Every day for the last week month it seems we've read something in the papers about the Mashpee Wampanoags and their move to set up a casino. Will it be in Middleborough? New Bedford? Palmer? Some other Massachusetts town? It's not clear where they're going to open up just yet, but two things are certain: 1. the Mashpee Wampanoags receive their official federal recognition this week and 2. We'll hear the word "bingosino" a lot......

--We don't always put fires on the blotter, but a firefighter had bad luck during a Dumpster fire at Boston College early this morning. However, it wasn't fire that hurt the firefighter – it was his department's own truck! The Newton Fire Department arrived to fight the blaze. The BC Heights reports, "While the fire truck was powering the pumps, the vehicle lurched forward, running over the injured firefighter. The truck broke through the fence......

--More details have emerged about the Mattapan man who was stabbed to death yesterday. Sylvester Mitchell was 38 years old and may have been stabbed as part of a domestic dispute because his wife was questioned by police. He was murdered on his birthday. --Overnight, another stabbing happened, this time in Dorchester, and the victim is in stable condition. Less lucky is a pedestrian who was hit in Brighton at Cambridge and Harvard Avenues. The......

--Machetes are definitely hot in East Boston. The BPD saw a guy just a-walking around at night with a two-foot-long machete "protruding from his waist area." Could he have been using it to accessorize his belt? Luckily, they arrested him before he got to use it on anyone. We imagine no one wanted to bother him except for a few brave police officers. --A cold case is warming up in New Bedford. Nine women were......

Ed Davis probably slept soundly last night. The House has decided to rescue the antigang Shannon Community Safety Initiative with funding, and they are giving $2.5 million for more police. Given the rise in homicides, the timing couldn't be better. The program also makes sense because it is more than just adding police presence – it also fosters gang prevention efforts. The money isn't just for Boston. New Bedford received $1 million this year for......

--Smoke filled a Boston University lab yesterday morning, prompting an evacuation. This wouldn't have been such big news if it weren't for the biomedical lab's experiments on infectious "rabbit fever." The Globe proved it was a master of understatement with the following sentence: "[The incident renews] concern about the danger of studying potentially deadly pathogens in a densely populated area." No kidding. --The BPD held a press conference to help find missing sailor Dustin Willis.......

Yesterday marked the fourth anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. 3,200 troops have died. The following are the soldiers from Massachusetts who lost their lives in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom as listed in the Washington Post: Sgt. Glenn R. Allison - Pittsfield / Lance Cpl. Alexander S. Arredondo - Randolph / Spec. David J. Babineau - Springfield / Staff Sgt. Joseph P. Bellavia - Wakefield / 2nd Lt. Joshua L.......

--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......

We really aren't sure where this came from. It seems like the stereotypes portrayed below have been applied to areas around St. Louis, Florida, Memphis, Detroit, among other US geographic locations. It came to us via email, un-attributed to the author (email us, we'll give you credit), and humorously rang true for some of the locations integrated into the list. Suggestions for the South Boston Barbie (both original model and Fort Point edition), Cantabrigian Barbie,......