* Debt load saps U.S. bargaining power with China

School Superintendent Carol R. Johnson last night revealed the names of 14 Boston schools slated for massive overhauls, reinvention, or possible closing under a plan that would affect more than 6,000 students. Johnson chose to focus on the schools because of chronically low MCAS scores. She delivered the news to the School Committee in the auditorium of one of the affected schools: Orchard Gardens K-8 School in Roxbury, which opened with great fanfare in a new facility at the corner of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Albany Street in 2003, and has roughly 600 students. ``For our very survival, we must launch a new era for Boston public schools,'' Johnson told a packed auditorium. ``We are prepared to innovate.'' Orchard Gardens is part of the district's much-hyped pilot schools program, which allows administrators to deviate from districtwide curriculum mandates and teacher union rules in hope of sparking teaching innovation. But Orchard Gardens has long suffered from low test scores and tur

Today in History. Today is Sunday, Sept. 27, the 270th day of 2009. There are 95 days left in the year. The Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, begins at sunset.

Loss-making airline British Airways announced on Monday that it would launch an all-business class service from London to New York this week, as it seeks to get back on track amid the downturn.

As winter approaches, EPA wants to boost limits on runoff of chemicals used to deice airliners. Every winter, airports across the country spray millions of gallons of deicing chemicals onto airliners and allow the runoff to trickle away. When the chemicals end up in nearby waterways, the deicing fluid can turn streams bright orange and create dead zones for aquatic life.

Loss-making airline British Airways announced on Monday that it would launch an all-business class service from London to New York this week, as it seeks to get back on track amid the downturn.

In a plum presidential nod, India wins the honor of Obama's first state dinner in November. And the first state dinner of President Barack Obama's administration goes to ... India.

High in the seats at last year's Democratic National Convention, Attorney General Martha Coakley rose to register her vote for Hillary Clinton. The vote carried no mathematical weight - Barack Obama had already secured the nomination - but was a symbolic show of support for the woman who had come closest to the presidency. Coakley, now trying to become the first woman to serve as US senator from Massachusetts, is tapping many of the same supporters, including a coterie of powerful women who backed Clinton in 2008. ``There's just a real sense of excitement that she's qualified and she's got the whole package,'' said Senate President Therese Murray. ``Women have never been at this point in Massachusetts before for this office.'' Today, Murray will join dozens of politically active wom en in helping Coakley launch a major push for women voters. Coakley will be formally endorsed this morning by several prominent women, including Murray and more than two dozen state legislators. There will

High in the seats at last year's Democratic National Convention, Attorney General Martha Coakley rose to register her vote for Hillary Clinton. The vote carried no mathematical weight - Barack Obama had already secured the nomination - but was a symbolic show of support for the woman who had come closest to the presidency. Coakley, now trying to become the first woman to serve as US senator from Massachusetts, is tapping many of the same supporters, including a coterie of powerful women who backed Clinton in 2008. ``There's just a real sense of excitement that she's qualified and she's got the whole package,'' said Senate President Therese Murray. ``Women have never been at this point in Massachusetts before for this office.'' Today, Murray will join dozens of politically active wom en in helping Coakley launch a major push for women voters. Coakley will be formally endorsed this morning by several prominent women, including Murray and more than two dozen state legislators. There will

If Stephen Pagliuca manages to win the special election for Edward M. Kennedy's seat, the Celtics co-owner will not be the only NBA owner to spend a chunk of his personal fortune to become a United States senator. Herb Kohl, owner of the Milwaukee Bucks and a Wisconsin Democrat, did that in 1988, spending about $4 million of his own money for the seat he still holds. And if Pagliuca spends $10 million of the fortune he made from Bain Capital's investments, he will not come close to the record for personal wealth spent in pursuit of membership in the exclusive Senate club. That honor goes to Democrat Jon S. Corzine of New Jersey, the former head of Goldman Sachs, who spent $62 million to win a seat in 2000 and is now running for reelection as gover nor of the Garden State. Pagliuca is the latest megamillionaire eager to start his political career at the top, in this case a Senate seat that has been held by political giants, including Kennedy, future presidents John F. Kennedy and John Q

By openly declaring their views on the Afghan war, US military leaders have placed President Barack Obama in a bind as he faces a fraught decision over the troubled US-led mission.

Named by unpopular governor, NY's junior senator must tread election bid carefully. New York Gov. David Paterson keeps sinking in the public's opinion, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is stuck in the vortex: She has to avoid getting sucked down by the governor's historic low ratings without appearing ungrateful to the man who picked her to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton.

New records from CIA: Cuban exile and accused terrorist informed on fellow anti-Castro plots. Recently released CIA files from the mid-1960s show Cuban exile and accused terrorist Luis Posada Carriles informed on violent Miami-based efforts to attack Fidel Castro's fledgling Cuban government even as he was deeply involved in helping them.

Slaying of Fla. hotel heir sparks bitter feud over estate that includes Batman collection. The mysterious death of a Fontainebleau Hotel heir has triggered a family feud over his multimillion-dollar estate, with relatives accusing his wife of murder even though no one has been charged.

The mysterious death of a Fontainebleau Hotel heir has triggered a family feud over his multimillion-dollar estate, with relatives accusing his wife of murder even though no one has been charged.

The mysterious death of a Fontainebleau Hotel heir has triggered a family feud over his multimillion-dollar estate, with relatives accusing his wife of murder even though no one has been charged.

The US Navy said on Friday a cargo ship will be named after civil rights activist Medgar Evers, whose notorious murder in 1963 shaped the struggle for racial equality.

Out with the red wine and foie gras: half the French cabinet are fighting the fat to please their clean-living boss President Nicolas Sarkozy and his supermodel wife, a top nutritionist said Thursday.

Kerry Kennedy, daughter of RFK, backs Ecuador Indians in eco damage suit against Chevron. Robert F. Kennedy's daughter sided with Ecuadorean Indians and farmers in their $27 billion environmental lawsuit against oil giant Chevron, saying Thursday after visiting former Amazon drilling sites that the case compares unfavorably to the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker spill.

Navy to name cargo ship in honor of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers. Slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers will be honored Friday with a Navy supply ship named for him.