Springfield murder investigations turn over to Massachusetts State Police

As of midnight Friday, Massachusetts State Police troopers will be take the lead role in any new murder investigations in Springfield while the city’s own homicide unit has been directed off stage

Former zoo, circus elephant Ruby dies at sanctuary

Ruby, an African elephant who was moved to a Northern California sanctuary four years ago amid protests over her confinement at the Los Angeles Zoo, has died. She was 50.

On Japan’s Coast, A Search For Relatives And Relief

On Wednesday, at 9:15 in the morning, Noriaki Osaka finally found the bodies of his mother and sister, interred in the ruins of their house beside the highway in Rikuzentakata, Japan.

Gates Says Other Nations Can Arm Libyan Rebels

President Obama’s top two national security officials signaled on Thursday that the United States was unlikely to arm the Libyan rebels, raising the possibility that the French alone among the Western allies would provide weapons and training for the poorly organized forces fighting Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s government.