Published May 3, 2011

One day after the nation learned of the death of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden, the country is confronting what’s left of al-Qaida.

Boston and other major cities are bracing for reprisal attacks. Members of the military say the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are still far from over. Many Muslims are confronting their religion’s image in a post-bin Laden America.

Like the Sept. 11 attacks that brought bin Laden to the forefront of Americans’ minds, bin Laden’s death is sure to go down in history. Details on the raid continue to emerge and the Globe has a great graphic explaining the logistics.

Families of 9-11 victims and soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan took yesterday to remember their loved ones. Sept. 11 will be a defining date of my life — for young kids, May 2, 2011 may be similar. And, for those wondering, the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list isn’t ranked, so Whitey Bulger doesn’t move to the “top spot” after bin Laden is removed.

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Boston today in non-bin Laden news:

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is asking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to delay its re-licensing decision for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth.

Sen. Scott Brown said he’s planning to fulfill his National Guard service commitment in Afghanistan this year.

Thanks to a huge game from goalie Tim Thomas and an overtime goal by center David Krejci, the Bruins beat the Flyers 3-2 last night. The team returns home from Philadelphia with a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series.

What we’re following: We’ll continue to report on the corruption trial of former House Speaker Sal DiMasi, the death of former Globe publisher William O. Taylor and the security at Logan Airport.

Published May 2, 2011

U.S. authorities used “multiple methods,” including DNA matching, to identify Osama bin Laden’s body as one of the dead after the early morning raid in Pakistan.

From NPR’s Two-Way blog:

The AP reports that two Obama administration officials say “DNA evidence has proven that Osama bin Laden is dead, with 99.9 percent confidence.”

The AP adds that the officials did not say where or how the testing was done.

That “where or how” is now the focus of questioning.

Boston’s WCVB-TV reports that the DNA used to identify bin Laden’s body was extracted at Mass. General. Bin Laden’s sister died at MGH about a year ago and authorities saved some of her tissue for DNA testing, according to the report.

WBUR’s CommonHealth, however, says that the report has not been verified. “A Massachusetts General spokesperson says that the hospital has checked with multiple sources there and has been unable to confirm any aspect of the ABC report,” CommonHealth’s Carey Goldberg wrote.

It would be easy to identify bin Laden by his sister’s tissue using “commonplace PCR methods,” according to a blog post by the Scientific American. The post’s author, a Cell and Molecular Biology PhD student, reckons that you could identify the body in under five hours.

UPDATE: ABC News has backed off its story a bit. “It is unclear whether bin Laden’s sister, who died of brain cancer in Boston in 2005, was one of the relatives used in the comparison,” ABC’s Katie Moisse wrote in a recent story.

Published May 2, 2011

With news that U.S. forces killed the world’s most wanted terrorist, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, spontaneous celebrations erupted in Boston and Cambridge Sunday night and Monday morning. UniversalHub has great video of the celebration streaming toward Boston Common.

Family members of Sept. 11 victims expressed relief that bin Laden had been killed. Mass. lawmakers from Sen. Scott Brown to Boston Mayor Tom Menino embraced the news but cautioned that the country’s threat from terrorist groups is not over.

The Herald headline sums up a lot of reaction around the country today: We Got Him! For families who lost loved ones in the Sept. 11 attacks, however, bin Laden’s death does little to replace their loss.

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Boston today in non-Osama bin Laden news:

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority will sue several companies in response to the catastrophic water main break that left millions of Boston-area residents without drinkable water.

Murder investigations across the state could be compromised thanks to underfunded coroners, according to the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Dr. Henry M. Nields — the head of the state office — says he can’t provide the right services without hiring more coroners.

Many Massachusetts school buildings were built significantly larger than what is required, according to a new report. The report questions whether communities in the midst of budget crises should close or consolidate schools.

Starting today, anyone with an Internet connection can see what’s going on in Quincy District Court. In an experimental project run by WBUR and funded by the Knight News Challenge, all proceedings will be live-streamed and an on-site blogger will provide full multimedia access. It’s called OpenCourt.us.

The Celtics dropped the first game of their playoff series to the Miami Heat yesterday. The Bruins, who won Game 1 of their series 7-3 Saturday, face off against the Philadelphia Flyers again tonight.

Published April 29, 2011

For-profit poker rooms are raking in cash across the state, according to the Globe. Though casino gambling is illegal in Massachusetts, the clubs operate openly thanks to a provision that allows charities to hold Vegas Night fundraisers. A portion of the poker rooms’ profits go to the nonprofits that sponsor the event.

The Massachusetts House approved its $30.5 billion budget plan last night, including the controversial provision allowing cities and towns to bypass union approval for changes to municipal health plans. The budget heads to the state Senate and a combined bill must be approved by July 1.

Bullying victims came together to share their stories and assess the state’s year-old anti-bullying law at a State House conference yesterday.

An Air Force pilot from Auburn was killed in Afghanistan Wednesday when an Afghan soldier turned on allied troops. David L. Brodeur, 34, was a standout athlete and student at Auburn High School.

The Patriots drafted Nate Solder, an offensive tackle from Colorado. It’s a safe pick, not a sexy one, as the Herald writes. The team traded the No. 28 pick to the Saints for a second-round selection this year and a first-round selection next year.

What we’re following: We’ll continue to report on changes at the Haverhill Fire Department, the arrest of 32 individuals on weapons charges in Brockton and a Federal Elections Commission complaint against Mitt Romney. Also, there was a wedding, or something, this morning.

Published April 28, 2011

Hailed by some as a historic education agreement, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino tentatively agreed to a deal with the city’s 14 independent charter schools that could end years of squabbling. Under the compact, charter schools would take more neighborhood students and special needs students. In return, the city may lease empty school buildings to charters.

In other education news, the city’s school committee approved a new contract for Superintendent Carol Johnson, allowing her to stay on until 2015.

The Bruins are in the Eastern Conference semifinals after a crucial overtime win over the archrival Montreal Canadiens. The game-winning shot came at 5:43 of the extra period in Game 7, giving Boston a 4-3 win. The team will open the conference semifinals in Philadelphia on Saturday.

While the NFL and its players battle each other in court over labor issues, at least one player is using the time off productively. New England Patriots punter Zoltan Mesko is trading his football pads for a pad and paper while interning at a private equity firm in Philadelphia. Mesko — a former business major at the University of Michigan — is working the cubicles and waiting to return to his day job with the NFL.

Sen. John Kerry is taking a less critical approach toward Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad. Kerry hasn’t called for al-Assad’s resignation, like he did with Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi.

What we’re following: We’ll continue to report on the proposed education agreement, the House budget and a drop in Massachusetts home sales.

Published April 27, 2011

Lots of beach-goers this summer will scour the sand for pretty shells, sand dollars, loose change. Few, you’d think, would ever find their own brother.

But that’s what happened to two Massachusetts brothers on a Waikiki, Hawaii, beach earlier this month, according to the AP.

A hotel employee, Joe Parker, offered to snap a picture of Rick Hill’s family. They got to talking about their shared Boston accent and played the Name Game to see if they knew similar people. Turns out, they both knew Dickie Halligan because Halligan was both of their fathers. The AP writes:

Hill says he felt chills. Halligan was his father. Parker said Halligan was his father too. The men were half-brothers.

Parker called the encounter “mind blowing.”

Both men knew they had a brother, but never expected to meet.

Last time I went to the beach all I came back with was a sunburn.

Published April 27, 2011

House lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a measure giving cities and towns more control over employee health insurance last night. Union leaders say the proposal takes away their collective bargaining rights.

The mayor of Lawrence is under fire and opponents are calling for him to resign. The Globe claims Mayor William Lantigua is the focus of a corruption investigation by the FBI and some Lawrence residents are mounting a campaign to remove him from office.

Once a reliable rubber stamp for the governor, the Governor’s Council has grown increasingly fractured and contentious. Barbara Lenk, the latest Supreme Judicial Court nominee by Gov. Deval Patrick, comes before the council today.

Students called for local colleges to improve their handling of sexual assaults at a rally yesterday outside Boston City Hall. Some students and advocates charge that many universities take too long to investigate incidents and fail to promote an environment that’s safe for all.

If you live in Medford, you might know the man taking over part of the Dalai Lama’s job. Lobsang Sangay, the Harvard University acadmeic, was elected prime minister of the Tibetan government in exile yesterday.

The Bruins are headed back to Boston, forced to play for the series in a decisive Game 7 against Montreal tomorrow tonight after a 2-1 loss in Montreal last night. Penalties killed the Bruins — the Habs capitalized twice in 5-on-3 action.

What we’re following: We’ll continue to report on a new method of evaluating teachers in Massachusetts, rising gas prices and Lenk’s Governor’s Council hearing.