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It wasn't until Harold Brown Jr. left his hometown of Bolton, a small Central Massachusetts community with a farming history, that he hungered to see more of the world. ``The running joke is, `Where's Harold now?' '' said William D. Spratt, a friend of Brown's from their high school days. Spratt said that over the years, he learned never to question Brown about what he did for the Army or his more recent employers. ``I kind of knew not to ask,'' Spratt said. ``It was a job and he had to go where he had to go. . . . When I saw him, he was a friend and a family man.'' Brown, 37, was one of eight Americans killed Wednesday in Afghanistan when a suicide bomber infiltrated a US forward operating base near the volatile border with Pakistan. The Taliban has claimed responsibility. Yesterday, the CIA said seven of those killed worked for the nation's spy agency, but did not specify who the eighth person worked for. Over the years, Spratt said, Brown was sent to a number of overseas posts, incl

BRUINS NOTEBOOK In the team photo taken before yesterday's practice at Fenway Park, Milan Lucic stood in the back row between David Krejci and Adam McQuaid. Lucic then participated in practice, including the scrimmage and the shootout. Lucic, however, will not be seen on the Fenway ice today. Because of his sprained left ankle, he will sit out his 16th straight game. Lucic is considered a week away from being ready for game action. If all goes as planned, he could return during the two-game homestand against Chicago and the Rangers next week, or be available for the three-game California swing the following week. Today will mark the 30th game Lucic has missed because of ankle and finger injuries. It's been a checkered season for Lucic, who had hoped to make the Olympic roster after being invited to Team Canada's orientation camp over the summer. ``The only way you can look at it is that it wasn't meant to be,'' Lucic said. ``Everything has to happen for a reason. Maybe I'm not going to

Regardless of how today's Winter Classic goes, the event can already be a considered a top-shelf success for the Bruins. Yesterday morning, minutes before the Bruins, led by captain Zdeno Chara, emerged from the home dugout, snowflakes began to fall upon Fenway Park. ``Is it really snowing?'' asked Marc Savard. It was, turning the old ballyard and the 200-by-85-foot temporary rink into a playground where the smiles outnumbered the fast-falling flakes. Practice at Wilmington's drafty Ristuccia Arena (colder than playing outdoors, the players confirmed) is usually a grim-faced affair. The coaching staff, with few breaks for water or visits to the greaseboard, puts the players through high-tempo, little-rest sessions designed to squeeze maximum efficiency into an hour of heart-pumping effort. But yesterday, coach Claude Julien loosened the reins. ``Today had to be a day to have some fun, enjoy the moment, and soak in anything you can,'' Julien said. ``Even in practice, the conditions made

As Boston was set to finish the year with the lowest number of homicides and shootings since 2003, community leaders who work to prevent violence said they remain concerned about the general rise of sexual assaults and an increase in robberies in usually quieter parts of the city. There were 49 killings in Boston as of last night and 192 nonfatal shootings as of Tuesday, according to Boston police figures. The number of killings was the lowest in six years; the city finished 2003 with 39 homicides. The numbers, though not as low as the late 1990s when the city's dramatic drop in homicides drew national attention, pleased police. Commissioner Edward F. Davis credited the decline with a departmental strategy that had officers getting out of their cruisers and interacting more with residents of neighborhoods historically besieged by violence. Arrests for gun possession were up slightly, with 554 firearm arrests as of Dec. 20 compared with 552 for the same period in 2008. ``They tell a goo

``What art offers is space, a certain breathing room for the spirit,'' John Updike once wrote. In novels, short stories, essays, and poems, Updike, who died last January, crafted a spacious and brilliantly conceived body of work that placed him among the noteworthy figures who passed from the scene in 2009. Like Updike, many among the recently departed had an enormous impact on history and culture and left legacies that will endure. Edward Moore Kennedy, last lion of the US Senate and last of the fabled Kennedy brothers, overcame personal trials and tribulations to serve Massachusetts, and the country, with distinction for five decades. His death in August closely followed that of his sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics and champion of the intellectually disabled. Also remembered for their ties to Camelot were former defense secretary Robert McNamara, a prime architect of the Vietnam War, and tax policy adviser Paul Samuelson, the preeminent academic economi

FOXBOROUGH - The playoff berth is clinched. The last game of the regular season is two days away. Yet Tom Brady isn't interested in rest. He wants to play Sunday against the Texans in Houston, so much so that he shared his thoughts with coach Bill Belichick. Belichick's response, according to Brady: ``You'll play. Don't worry about that. You'll be playing.'' While some view this as a chance for the Patriots to get players healthy for the playoffs, Brady declared Sunday's game far from meaningless. If anything, he said, the Patriots are interested in building momentum that could carry over into the postseason. ``I think as players we don't factor into any of those decisions that Coach Belichick makes,'' Bra dy said. ``It's our job to prepare to play, and I certainly am. I'm out there doing all of my regular practice stuff. ``I want to play and I want to do great, and I want to have a great game against a team who's fighting for their playoff lives and has a lot of great players, and rea

Kevin Pearce of Norwich, Vt., considered a medal contender in snowboarding in the upcoming Vancouver Olympics, suffered a serious head injury during halfpipe training yesterday in Park City, Utah. Attempting a double cork twisting double backflip, the 22-year-old Pearce slammed his head against the edge of the halfpipe and was knocked unconscious. He was flown to the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, where doctors planned to drain fluid that was building up in his brain. US Olympic halfpipe coach Mike Jankowski said Pearce appeared to hit the pipe edge just above his eye during a double cork. Jankowski described the injuries as ``serious, critical.'' When reached late last night, a Pearce representative had no update on his condition. ``He did [the double cork] a little too hard, put a little too much oomph into it, and over-rotated on his second flip,'' said Jankowski. In an interview seven weeks ago, Pearce talked about the difficulty of the double cork and how landing i

PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK FOXBOROUGH - Two of the top three passing teams in the NFL have faced the Patriots this season, and both the Colts (No. 1) and Saints (No. 3) walked away with victories. No. 2 on the list is Sunday's opponent. The Texans' offense starts with quarterback Matt Schaub and funnels its way through receivers like Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter. The last game of the regular season may be the biggest test for the Patriots' secondary. The Texans average 379.3 yards a game, which is fifth in the NFL. Their 290.6 passing yards are second. Schaub's 4,467 yards this season lead the NFL. Johnson is a big reason for those numbers. Johnson has led the league in receiving yards in back-to-back seasons, posting 1,504 this season. He also has a career-high nine touchdowns and is the most productive receiver since 2007, with an average of 90.7 yards a game. On the other side is Walter, who has 51 catches and 581 yards. If Schaub has time to throw, he can get the ball deep. The Texans hav

She called in sick. Then, police say, she robbed a bank. Early in the afternoon of Dec. 16, the day she didn't come to work, authorities say, a 49-year-old English teacher from Brookline, N.H., her face obscured by a multicolored scarf, showed up at Washington Savings Bank in the nearby town of Tyngsborough, handed the clerk a note on a crisp white envelope neatly folded into thirds, and left with an unspecified amount of money. Over the course of coming days, she allegedly held up at least two more banks, in Connecticut and Massachusetts, each time wrapped in the colorful scarf and each time delivering a note on a neatly folded envelope. Police say the teacher, Gail Rasmussen, took at least $3,000 in total, and that 20 minutes after one of the robberies, she was spotted at Mohegan Sun Casino. ``It is out of the realm of anything I've experienced,'' said Susan Hodgson, superintendent of the Hollis-Brookline school district where Rasmussen taught English to seventh-graders. ``Safe to sa

Attorney General Martha Coakley raised more than $1 million over the past six weeks for her US Senate campaign, bringing her total haul for the race to $5.2 million, her campaign reported yesterday. The campaign of her rival, state Senator Scott Brown, said it raised $700,000 during the same period, much of it on the Internet, for a total of $1.2 million. Coakley, who faced three opponents in the Democratic primary, started the special election campaign with less than $500,000 in her campaign account, compared with about $300,000 for Brown, a Republican of Wrentham. Coakley raised the $1 million between Nov. 20 and Dec. 31. The campaign did not release donor lists, say how much money the campaign spent over that period, or reveal how much it has in the bank to begin the new year. Those details must be included in information that has to be submitted next week to the Federal Election Commission. ``I am humbled by the incredible show of support, especially over the busy holiday season, f

Two Boston residents with deep roots in the city will join the School Committee on Monday, Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced yesterday. The two new members are John Barros, executive director of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, and Mary Tamer, a freelance writer who also is on the board of the League of Women Voters of Boston. They will be sworn in following the mayor's inauguration Monday morning at Faneuil Hall, a few hours before their first School Committee meeting. ``I am honored to appoint two extraordinary individuals who have already given so much to the Boston public schools and to supporting our young people and their families,'' Menino said in a statement. Both Barros, a Roxbury resident, and Tamer, of West Roxbury, attended Boston public schools, and Tamer has two sons at Joyce Kilmer K-8 School in West Roxbury. Tamer, 43, said joining the School Committee was a natural progression for her. After graduating from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in jour

After initially denying the 9-year-old daughter of a slain convenience store clerk a visa to attend his funeral, the US Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal, issued the girl a visa yesterday, according to a family friend. ``The embassy called the girl's mother and told her that they would issue the visa,'' said Uttam Shrestha, a family friend. The wife, daughter, and brother of the victim, Surendra Dangol, were scheduled to board a plane at 11:25 p.m. in Nepal yesterday and arrive in Boston at 10:25 tonight, Shrestha said. US Representative Michael E. Capuano said yesterday that he had contacted the US consulate in Kathmandu on Wednesday and ``enlightened them as to what was going on and asked them to review the matter'' after his office received numerous calls from the Nepali community concerning the denial of the visa. Capuano said he learned yesterday morning that a visa had been issued. Capuano represents the Eighth District, which includes Somerville, the home to many Nepali immigrants. He

An ex-gay mother failed to give up custody of her 7-year-old daughter to her former lesbian partner on Friday. An ex-gay mother failed to give up custody of her 7-year-old daughter to her former lesbian partner on Friday, ABC News reported. Lisa Miller, 41, fled her 4 year civil union to Janet Jenkins, 45, and renounced being gay in 2004, moving herself and the couple's 17-month-old daughter, Isabella, from Vermont to Virginia. In dissolving the couple's civil union, a Vermont judge originally awarded Miller, who is the biological mother through artificial insemination, custody of the child but granted liberal visitation rights to Jenkins. The court, however, reversed the ruling on November 20, awarding custody to Jenkins, after it found Miller to be in contempt of court for denying Jenkins visitation rights. ?She's very disappointed, obviously,? said Sarah Star, Jenkins' Vermont lawyer. ?She's very concern about Isabella and asks that if anybody sees Isabella, that they please contact

BBC News anchor Jane Hill has outed herself as lesbian. BBC News anchor Jane Hill has outed herself as lesbian. In an interview released Tuesday in the BBC's internal weekly publication 'Ariel', Hill opened up about her relationship with her girlfriend, Sara. The couple have been together about a year and live with their dog Mavis. ?Everyone has known for years that Jane is gay,? a colleague said. ?She hasn't made a secret of it at the BBC and although she had other girlfriends over the years, this one seem to be the one.? Hill, 40, co-anchors the BBC's News Channel and has worked on many high-profile stories, including Hurricane Katrina, 9/11 and the inauguration of Barack Obama. She earned a degree in politics from the London University.

A contentious gay marriage bill in the New Jersey Legislature will face a major obstacle to passage on Thursday. A contentious gay marriage bill in the New Jersey Legislature will face a major obstacle to passage on Thursday, January 7, if its sponsors get their way. Democratic Senators Loretta Weinberg and Raymond Lesniak have asked Senate President Richard Codey, a Democrat from Essex, to hold a floor vote on the bill Thursday. Democrats control the Senate with two votes to spare but remain divided on the bill. The bill was punted back to the Senate on New Year's Eve when Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts, a Democrat from Camden, said he had heard enough on the bill and was prepared to put the bill up for a vote without a committee hearing but added that the Assembly would not go first in voting for the measure. ?I've advised the Senate sponsors that, if the bill is passed by the Senate, I am prepared to bring the bill directly to the Assembly floor for a vote before the end of this legis

Chism scores 15 points, No. 14Tennessee beats Memphis 66-59. Wayne Chism had 15 points and nine rebounds, and 14th-ranked Tennessee dominated inside for a 66-59 victory over Memphis on Thursday.

Ubiles has 21 points, Siena uses second-half spurt to defeat St. Peter's 64-53. Edwin Ubiles had 21 points and 11 rebounds and Siena used a second-half spurt to pull away from Saint Peter's 64-53 on Thursday.

President Barack Obama planned to spend New Year's Eve Thursday plowing through initial probes into the botched bombing of a US plane, after slamming "systemic" intelligence failures.

Chism scores 15 points, No. 14Tennessee beats Memphis 66-59. Wayne Chism had 15 points and nine rebounds, and 14th-ranked Tennessee dominated inside for a 66-59 victory over Memphis on Thursday.

Captain, 2nd mate of tug that ran aground at site of Valdez spill are relieved of their duties. A tugboat captain and second mate have been relieved of duty after their vessel ran aground on the same reef as the Exxon Valdez 20 years ago.

Spain on Friday assumed the rotating presidency of the European Union, the first under a new leadership structure for the bloc which includes its first full-time president and a new foreign policy supremo.

Tarantula lovers be warned: if you are going to get up-close-and-personal with your hairy eight-legged friend, do it from the other side of an aquarium pane or wearing a pair of glasses.

Tarantula lovers be warned: if you are going to get up-close-and-personal with your hairy eight-legged friend, do it from the other side of an aquarium pane or wearing a pair of glasses.

Police: Gas piped in from roof to blow up gang task force building in Southern California. Police say someone tried to blow up a gang task force building in Southern California by piping in natural gas.

Foster gets 700th win as Buckeyes roll to 7th consecutive victory 86-60. Ohio State coach Jim Foster earned his 700th career victory as the Buckeyes surged to an 86-60 win over Northwestern on Thursday.

Authorities say separate collisions with commuter trains near San Francisco kill 2. Two people died in separate collisions with Northern California commuter trains Thursday, making 2009 the deadliest year for Caltrain since 1995.

Report: Number of immigration cases at record levels in US courts in 2009. Immigration prosecutions rose to record levels in 2009 as the Obama administration kept up aggressive enforcement that began under President George W. Bush.

North Korea early Friday called for an end to hostile relations with the United States, after a year marked by nuclear and missile tests and its rejection of international peace efforts.

BOSTON (Reuters) - Fenway Park has seen plenty of rain delays but it could be a first for the NHL when the Boston Bruins take on the Philadelphia Flyers in Friday's Winter Classic, the league's annual showcase game played outdoors.

Wall Street suffered the slings and arrows of one of the most tumultuous years in stock market history in 2009, but has managed a stunning recovery that eclipsed a weak finish.

Person familiar with negotiations: Phillies agree to 2-year deal with reliever Danys Baez. A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press the Philadelphia Phillies and free agent reliever Danys Baez have agreed to a two-year contract.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended 2009 on Thursday with their best gains since 2003, driven by optimism about the economy's recovery and a brighter outlook for profits.

A dash of speed: QBs Jeremiah Masoli, Terrelle Pryor add flavor to Oregon-Ohio St Rose Bowl. Although Terrelle Pryor always has flash in his game, he went a little bit Hollywood this week.

Correction: Van Morrison story. In a Dec. 28 story, The Associated Press, relying on information from Van Morrison's Hollywood-based publicist and his official Web site, reported erroneously that the Irish singer had a new baby boy with a woman identified as "his wife, GiGi."

The NHL's Winter Classic promised to heat up Fenway Park, whatever the weather for the annual outdoor clash scheduled this season at the venerable baseball venue.

A fees dispute between News Corp.'s Fox and Time Warner Cable was going down to the wire Thursday leaving millions of US viewers potentially facing the loss of some of their favorite television shows.

No. 22 Seminoles smother overmatched Bulldogs in 81-34 win. Deividas Dulkys matched his career high with 19 points, and No. 22 Florida State routed Alabama A&M 81-34 on Thursday.

Hazzard hits 6 3-pointers, scores 30 to lead Troy to 83-82 victory over Louisiana-Monroe. Brandon Hazzard scored 30 points and Troy held off Louisiana-Monroe in the closing minutes for an 83-82 victory on Thursday.

Stocks slide in very light trading as investors close out their books on a stellar 2009. The stock market closed out a remarkable 2009 with a loss as investors bet the improving economy will lead the government to pull back on its stimulus measures. But stocks still managed their best year since 2003 as they recovered from the financial crisis and recession.

Car thieves are known to roam the streets on holidays, when people are most inattentive, but it's on New Year's Day when they work the hardest, the National Insurance Crime Bureau said on Thursday.

Walt Disney's grandson pleads not guilty in LA court to drug, gun charges. The grandson of Walt Disney has pleaded not guilty to drug and gun charges in Los Angeles.

North Korea early Friday called for an end to hostile relations with the United States, state media reported.

An Israeli illusionist gave an icy reception to the New Year, emerging at midnight from 66 hours in an 8-tonne block of ice, breaking the record of American magician David Blaine.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The attorney general for Washington D.C. has filed a lawsuit against an AT&T Inc <T.N> unit, seeking to recover consumers' unused balances on prepaid calling cards.

In a rebuke to government prosecutors, a federal judge on Thursday dismissed criminal charges against five Blackwater security guards accused of fatally shooting 14 people in Baghdad in September 2007.

Rose scores 22 points, Noah has 15 points, 21 rebounds in Bulls' win. Derrick Rose scored 22 points, and Joakim Noah added 15 points and 21 rebounds to help the Chicago Bulls hand the Detroit Pistons their ninth straight loss, 98-87 on Thursday.

North Korea early Friday called for an end to hostile relations with the United States, state media reported.

Insurer AIG will use common stock value for 2009 grants for top executives. Insurer American International Group Inc. will use stock units instead of common stock in paying executives for 2009 to comply with pay rules for companies that took federal bailouts, AIG said in a regulatory filing Thursday.

Commodities end year higher as investors bet weaker dollar will push prices higher in 2010. Commodities prices rose in the final trading of the year as investors looked past modest gains in the dollar and predicted the greenback would slump next year.