BOSTON (AP) — A lawyer says former Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger’s longtime girlfriend plans to plead guilty to a federal contempt charge. Catherine Greig (grehg) already is serving an eight-year prison term for helping Bulger avoid capture during his 16 years on the run. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington told a magistrate judge Monday she […]

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Attorneys for the wife of comedian Bill Cosby have filed a motion asking a federal judge to postpone her scheduled deposition until the appeal of a mandate requiring her testimony is settled. The Boston Globe reports that Camille Cosby’s lawyers filed the motion Monday in an attempt to delay her deposition […]

BOSTON Massachusetts’ child welfare agency acted within its rights when it denied a couple’s application to become foster parents because they spanked their children, the state’s highest court ruled Monday. Gregory and Melanie Magazu, of Fitchburg, said when they applied to become foster parents in 2012 that they used corporal punishment on their biological children […]

WASHINGTON President Barack Obama is making good on his pledge to politicize gun violence. The package of gun-control executive actions Obama will formally announce today has pushed the contentious issue to the forefront of the 2016 presidential campaign, just weeks from the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses. While Republicans and Democrats are deeply divided on the […]

WASHINGTON There were more airline deaths worldwide due to deliberate acts in 2015 than from accidental air crashes, for the second year in a row, according to an industry tally. There were only eight accidental airline crashes last year, accounting for 161 passenger and crew deaths — the fewest crashes and deaths since at least […]

BURNS, Ore. The armed activists who flocked to a remote wildlife refuge to take a stand against the federal government also looked prepared for a nippy day of hunting or fishing. They were bundled in camouflage, plaid shirts, ear muffs and cowboy hats in the bleak, snow-covered high desert of eastern Oregon where they seemed […]

TEHRAN, Iran Iran’s president said today that Saudi Arabia cannot “cover up” its crime of executing a leading Shiite cleric by severing diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic, even as the kingdom’s allies began limiting their links to his country. President Hassan Rouhani’s comments came as Kuwait announced it had recalled its ambassador to Iran […]

The mystery surrounding five missing Hong Kong booksellers known for titles banned in mainland China deepened after one purportedly wrote a letter saying he was fine and helping with an investigation on the mainland, prompting his wife to drop a missing person’s report. Hong Kong police said late Monday that Lee Bo’s wife canceled the […]

PARIS French President Francois Hollande has honored 17 victims killed in Islamic extremist attacks on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, a kosher market and police a year ago this week, unveiling plaques around Paris marking violence that ushered in a tumultuous year. Today’s ceremonies come as Charlie Hebdo is releasing a special anniversary issue laced with […]

ANKARA, Turkey At least 21 migrants drowned off Turkey today after their boats overturned in rough waters in two separate incidents as they tried to reach the Greek island of Lesbos, authorities and news reports said. Nine bodies washed up on a beach in the resort town of Ayvalik early today, prompting authorities to dispatch […]