Published May 19, 2010

News on a drizzly Boston Wednesday:

1. Alleged Harvard Fraudster ‘Not A Stand-Out’

   A former high school classmate said Adam Wheeler, accused of fooling the nation’s most august university, was a class clown who delighted in pranks such as tossing ketchup packets around the halls like little red landmines. (O’Ryan Johnson/Herald)

2. Trust-Based Admissions Leaves Elite Colleges Open To Fraud

   The former Harvard College senior accused of duping one of the world’s most selective universities seems to have exploited an application system at elite colleges that is largely based on trust and where admissions officers verify credentials only when they suspect that something is awry. (Tracy Jan and Milton J. Valencia/Globe)

3. Mass. Senate Approves Bill To Contain Health Costs

   The bill would let businesses with 50 or fewer workers form cooperatives to purchase insurance at a lower cost. Another provision presses insurers to spend at least 90 percent of premium dollars on care and 10 percent or less on administrative costs. (AP)

4. Not All Red Meats Are Heart-Unhealthy, Study Says

   The researchers looked over nearly 1,600 studies and were startled to find that even though the health risks of red meat seem well-established, the evidence for that is actually mixed. (Sacha Pfeiffer/WBUR)

5. Paul Levy Is A Good Guy, But He Doesn’t Get It

   Forty-five minutes with the Beth Israel CEO provided an extraordinary view into so much of what’s wrong with life in the city’s higher altitudes, where macho favor-trading, undue influence, and complicit governing boards are the way of the day. (Brian McGrory/Globe)