Published May 12, 2011

The Massachusetts House unanimously approved a bill yesterday designed to eliminate patronage in the Probation Department. The bill, however, goes against Gov. Deval Patrick’s plan that would see the department put under his direction.

The nearly 20-year-old murder of a Worcester homeless woman has been solved, authorities say, thanks to DNA evidence from the body of an exhumed Alabama man. Denise Comeau was murdered in Worcester in December of 1992, but her killing had been unsolved until now.

Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney is scheduled to give an address on health care in Michigan this afternoon. He’s been traveling the country defending Massachusetts’ universal health care coverage law that he signed when he was governor. His defense is going over well among New Hampshire Republicans.

Boston cab drivers say delays and technical problems are making it hard for them to comply with the city’s two-year-old policy requiring cabbies to accept credit cards. WBUR’s Adam Ragusea reports that Boston’s cab drivers voiced their displeasure over the credit card requirement yesterday.

Young triumphed over old, to the dismay of Bostonians. Miami’s new Big Three beat the Celtics’ old, bouncing the team from the playoffs. With Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen looking toward the end of their careers, many wonder if this team’s championship window has closed.

What we’re following: We’ll continue to report on yesterday’s commuter rail hiccup that caused massive delays, Massachusetts legislators possibly getting a look at photos of Osama bin Laden’s death and Romney’s health care speech.