MANCHESTER, N.H.

Officer buys suspect meal at McDonald’s before arrest

A Manchester police officer investigating a theft bought a “desperate and hungry” suspect a meal at McDonald’s before charging her.

The incident unfolded Friday morning when officers Lisa Mackey and Kevin Gelinas responded to a call from a woman whose purse had been stolen.

The officers found the suspects’ car in the parking of a McDonald’s. Christopher Greene was in the car and his girlfriend, Holly Solans, was inside the restaurant. Solans, described as disheveled and upset, told Mackey they were homeless, had been living in the car and needed food.

Mackey bought Solans a sandwich, let her eat, then charged her with receiving stolen property. Greene was charged with possession of heroin.

BOSTON

Killer of unintended victim sentenced to 18-20 years

A former Boston man has been sentenced to 18 to 20 years in prison for the 2008 killing of a Northeastern University student from Connecticut who wasn’t his intended target.

Thirty-three-year-old Cornell Smith was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty in Superior Court in Boston to reduced charges of voluntary manslaughter and unlawful firearm possession in the killing of 22-year-old Rebecca Payne of New Milford, Connecticut.

Prosecutors said Smith invaded Payne’s Boston apartment at 3:30 a.m. and opened fire at her. Authorities said Smith mistook Payne for another woman in the same building.

Mayor now says ‘T’ should stay open during storm

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh has reversed course and now says he hopes the MBTA can remain operating through the next major blast of winter.

Walsh suggested Thursday that the T consider shutting down over the weekend, as the transit system has done during other storms that overwhelmed aging equipment.

But on Friday the mayor released a statement that said closing the T would pose an “incredible hardship” for Boston residents and workers.

MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said officials planned to keep the system open on Saturday, but had not yet made a decision on Sunday or beyond..

HARRISBURG, Pa.

Governor: Call off faux hunt for state’s renowned rodent

A New Hampshire police department’s groundhog hunt for Punxsutawney Phil is getting a frosty reception from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf.

On Facebook, Wolf asked the Merrimack Police Department to drop its cold-hearted search for the renowned rodent that recently predicted six more weeks of winter.

Merrimack police Chief Mark Doyle says the tongue-in-cheek campaign to get Phil was an attempt to lighten the mood after a series of snowstorms.

Wolf has asked New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan to intervene. He says Phil is “an American legend and Pennsylvania hero.”

ALTON, N.H.

Impending storm cancels Alton Bay winter carnival

Organizers have canceled the annual Winter Carnival on Alton Bay due to the impending snowstorm this weekend, and because of bad ice.

Carnival Committee Chair Roger Sample said Thursday because all of the recent snow, plus the weight of the trucks on the ice from last weekend’s fishing derby, the ice in the bay isn’t very good. The carnival was to be held Sunday. There are no plans to reschedule it.

— From news service reports