QUINCY, Mass.

Endangered sea turtles ride in caravan to Florida

Dozens of sea turtles that stranded off Cape Cod last fall are headed south, where rescuers plan to release them in waters off northeast Florida.

A caravan was scheduled to leave from the New England Aquarium’s Animal Care Center in Quincy on Saturday with 37 turtles. It then planned stops in Connecticut, Maryland and Virginia to pick up a total of nine more rescued turtles.

The aquarium said the caravan was expected to arrive in the Jacksonville, Fla., area on Sunday.

A group of 242 cold-stunned turtles washed up on Massachusetts beaches last November and December. That’s more than three times the amount that typically strand.

The threatened and endangered turtles have since been rehabilitated and this weekend’s move is the last major transport of turtles that stranded last fall.

ANDOVER, Mass.

Cocaine worth $4.5 million seized, SUV driver arrested

Prosecutors say about 105 pounds of cocaine was seized from an Andover man’s SUV following a three-month investigation by state police.

Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett says 51-year-old Jose Martinez was arrested Friday afternoon following a traffic stop in Andover.

Martinez is charged with trafficking cocaine and being held pending arraignment Monday. It’s not clear if he has an attorney.

The Andover Eagle-Tribune reports the value of the cocaine is estimated at $4.5 million.

SMITHFIELD, R.I.

Chinese official to sign agreements with Bryant

Bryant University is set to strengthen ties with China by signing new partnership agreements with two universities when a delegation led by a senior Chinese education official visits the private school in Smithfield over the weekend.

Officials say representatives are scheduled to sign joint education partnerships with both the China University of Geosciences and the Beijing Institute of Technology Zhuhai. The signing ceremony is set for Sunday, when a Chinese education delegation led by Vice Minister of Education Ping Hao visits Bryant.

Bryant has pushed to boost ties with Chinese schools, cultural organizations and government offices over the last 15 years. That includes the U.S.-China Institute at Bryant, the Confucius Institute and plans for the unprecedented reconstruction of an iconic replica of part of China’s Forbidden City in Smithfield.