BURLINGTON, Vt.

Police: Man used Internet to arrange sex with minor

Vermont police say a Burlington man is accused of trying to use the Internet to arrange for sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Sixty-three-year-old Kenneth Atwood was arrested Saturday, about a month after South Burlington police and the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force began investigating an ad posted on craigslist.com. Police say Atwood posted the ad and after a lengthy conversation traveled to South Burlington to meet with what he thought was a 13-year-old girl with the intentions of bringing her back to his home for sex.

Atwood is due in court Monday morning. It was unclear Sunday whether he has an attorney.

BOSTON

Aquarium announces births of 17 whale calves

For marine biologists at the New England Aquarium, it’s a super-sized Mother’s Day.

Scientists at the Boston-based center say 17 new North Atlantic right whale calves have recently been born, adding to one of the most endangered whale populations on the planet.

Experts say only about 500 of the mammals classified as “critically endangered” are left on Earth. The Aquarium says the new births are a special cause for celebration because right whales historically have had a low reproductive rate.

The whale mothers gave birth in waters near the border of Florida and Georgia — their primary winter habitat — and they recently arrived in New England with their calves in tow. Six pairs of mothers and calves have been spotted feeding on plankton in Cape Cod Bay.

SALEM, N.H.

Argument led to burglary and assault, police say

Police say an argument over a painting job led to a burglary and assault in Salem, New Hampshire.

David Konze, 38, of Greenland is accused of breaking into the victim’s home Saturday night, slashing him in the stomach with a knife and running into the woods.

An officer later found both the suspect and a knife in the woods. Police say Konze knew the victim and they were arguing over a painting job the victim had been hired to complete.

Konze is being held at the Rockingham County jail and is due in court Monday. It was unclear Sunday whether he has a lawyer.

CONCORD, N.H.

Republican White House hopeful to hold rally

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson is making his way back to New Hampshire for the first time as an official Republican presidential candidate.

Carson, who recently announced his candidacy, is popular in conservative circles but lacks broad name recognition. Carson’s visit includes a rally at Manchester Community College on Sunday afternoon and a meet-and-greet at Blake’s Family Restaurant in Manchester on Monday morning.

Carson previously led the pediatric neurosurgery unit at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore. The only high-profile African-American likely to enter the Republican presidential primary, he has never held elected office. Carson is staunchly conservative on social issues and harshly critical of the president’s health care law and foreign policy.

A slew of Republican presidential hopefuls are in the early voting state of New Hampshire this week.

PAWTUCKET, R.I.

People rally to help family of tot killed by his dad’s car

Family and friends are rallying around the family of a 16-month-old Pawtucket boy who died after he was accidentally struck by his father’s car.

Police said Maxwell Teixeira died Friday after he was injured Tuesday in his family’s driveway. No charges were filed.

WJAR-TV reports an online fundraiser to help pay funeral expenses has been set up on the site gofundme.com.

Team Henry, a women’s soccer team that raises money for pediatric cancer, played their Saturday game against Team Africanas of Brockton, Massachusetts, to benefit Max’s family.

Player Belinda Dagraca, a friend of the family, tells the station the boy’s father is inconsolable. Another player and family friend, Ineida Rocha, said the loss is especially hard on Mother’s Day weekend. She said the teams held a minute of silence for Max.

NASHUA, N.H.

Flu-related fatalities in adults highest on record

New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human services says there were 49 adult deaths related to the flu this season, the highest total since it began keeping track in 1999.

The Nashua Telegraph reports that the previous high total for flu-related deaths was 45 during the 2012-2103 season, but the numbers are inexact because the flu isn’t an official reportable disease and different health care providers may use different standards for attributing deaths to the disease.

Officials say the numbers reflect the severity of the strain of the flu and a mismatch of the vaccine available this season. While flu season hasn’t official ended, no influenza has been identified in lab tests in New Hampshire in the last two weeks.

– From news service reports

Copy the Story Link