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FUGITIVE RAPIST CAUGHT

Mass. man sentenced decades after fleeing state

DEDHAM, Mass. (AP) - A man convicted of raping three women in Massachusetts has been sentenced to 36 to 40 years in prison decades after he fled the state and began living a secret life in Maine.

Gary Alan Irving was sentenced Thursday in Norfolk Superior Court. He could have gotten a life sentence.

Irving was a teenager when he was convicted of raping three women. When authorities finally caught up with him in Maine in March, he was 52 and had a wife and two grown children.

Irving, who lived in Rockland, fled Massachusetts in 1979 after a judge allowed him to return home to make arrangements before sentencing. He was on Massachusetts' Top 10 Most Wanted list for decades.

His attorney said Irving will be eligible for parole in 24 years.

SPRINGFIELD VIOLENCE

Springfield police probe 2 homicides in 2 nights

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - Springfield police are investigating the city's second homicide in two nights.

Police say 22-year-old Angel Llorens was fatally shot at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday after leaving his second-floor apartment and getting involved in an argument going on in front of the building.

Police said it wasn't related to another fatal shooting in the same Forest Park neighborhood on Tuesday night.

Police say the death of 30-year-old Fabian Pacheco in his apartment appears to be drug related.

A third shooting early Thursday landed a man in the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds, but police say his injuries are not considered life threatening.

BOSTON MARATHON-MIT OFFICER

Mass. bill would honor dream of slain MIT officer

BOSTON (AP) - A bill that would posthumously honor the dream of slain MIT officer Sean Collier to be appointed to the Somerville Police Department is moving quickly through the legislature.

The Massachusetts Senate unanimously approved the bill Thursday a day after the House also backed the bill.

The legislation would allow Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone to make the appointment.

Collier was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology officer authorities say was killed by the Boston Marathon bombing suspects.

The 27-year-old Collier was shot multiple times April 18 as he sat in his vehicle at the university's campus near Kendall Square in Cambridge.

Collier had worked for the MIT police for a little over a year and had been offered a job with the Somerville Police Department.

Curtatone said Collier was excited about the opportunity to join the Somerville police force.

BOSTON MARATHON-INJURED GIRL

Girl injured in Marathon bombing leaves hospital

BOSTON (AP) - The younger sister of the 8-year-old boy killed in the Boston Marathon bombings has been released from the hospital.

Her family said Thursday that 7-year-old Jane Richard, whose left leg was amputated below the knee, is in good spirits and looking forward to the next phase of recovery at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.

Jane had 12 surgeries during the 39 days she was in the intensive care unit at Boston Children's Hospital.

Her 8-year-old brother, Martin, was 1 of 3 people killed in the April 15 explosions at the marathon finish line. The entire family was within feet of the second blast.

The family said a Mass will be held in Martin's memory on June 9, his birthday, at St. Ann Church in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood.

MASSACHUSETTS SENATE-DEBATES

Markey, Gomez agree to 2nd Mass. US Senate debate

BOSTON (AP) - Democrat Edward Markey and Republican Gabriel Gomez have agreed to another televised debate in their race for the state's special U.S. Senate election.

The June 18 debate is being sponsored by a Boston media consortium.

The two candidates have already agreed to a televised June 5 debate sponsored by WBZ-TV and The Boston Globe.

Both candidates have said they want at least three debates, but have wrangled over the details.

The debate over debates has been a sticking point in the campaign for the Senate seat left vacant by the resignation of John Kerry to become secretary of state.

Typically candidates running for statewide seats like the U.S. Senate also participate in at least one western Massachusetts debate.

The special Senate election is June 25.

MASSACHUSETTS SENATE-COWAN

Sen. Cowan to address BC Law School commencement

BOSTON (AP) - Massachusetts U.S. Sen. William "Mo" Cowan will be delivering the commencement address at Boston College Law School.

Cowan will be addressing the graduating class Friday morning at the school's Chestnut Hill campus. He was appointed by Gov. Deval Patrick to fill John Kerry's former U.S. Senate seat on an interim basis,

Cowan is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law and began his legal career as a litigation associate with the Boston firm Peabody and Arnold. He went on to practice civil litigation as an associate and partner in the Boston office of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo.

In 2009, Cowan became Patrick's chief legal counsel, advising the Democratic governor on legal and policy issues including judicial selections and legislation.

Cowan later became Patrick's chief of staff.

MASSACHUSETTS CONGRESS

Middlesex Sheriff eyeing Markey's US House seat

BOSTON (AP) - Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian has opened a congressional campaign committee account as he eyes a run for the U.S. House if Congressman Edward Markey wins the state's special U.S. Senate election.

A victory by Markey over his Republican challenger Gabriel Gomez on June 25 would spark another special election for Markey's House seat.

Koutoujian, a Democrat, began his career as a prosecutor before being elected to the Massachusetts House representing Waltham, Watertown and Newton. He was appointed sheriff in January 2011 by Gov. Deval Patrick.

During his tenure on Beacon Hill, Koutoujian served as chairman of the committees on Healthcare, Public Health and Financial Services.

Others eyeing Markey's seat including Ashland state Sen. Karen Spilka and Reps. Katherine Clark of Melrose, Carl Sciortino of Medford and William Brownsberger of Belmont.

All four are Democrats.

CELLUCCI-ALS REGISTRY

Senate votes to establish Cellucci ALS Registry

BOSTON (AP) - The Massachusetts Senate has voted to establish a Department of Public Health ALS registry named after former Gov. Paul Cellucci.

The amendment to the Senate's version of the state budget would create the Argeo Paul Cellucci Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Registry.

ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

More than 5,600 people are diagnosed with ALS every year. The average life expectancy of a person with ALS is two to five years from the time of diagnosis.

Cellucci was diagnosed with ALS in 2011.

Cellucci served as a state lawmaker before being elected lieutenant governor in 1991 on a ticket with fellow Republican William Weld.

Cellucci was elected governor in 1999 and served until 2001 when he was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Canada.

CAPE WIND

Business groups take on Cape Wind in ads

BOSTON (AP) - Two business groups are saying Massachusetts can't afford the Cape Wind offshore wind project.

In full-page newspaper ads Thursday, the Associated Industries of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership say the state already has expensive energy, and the project's above-market power costs will make it tougher to attract business.

The partnership has a well-known leadership, including Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Fidelity Financial Services president Abigail Johnson.

Cape Wind has Gov. Deval Patrick's backing, and regulators say its benefits as a large source of clean energy off a busy coast outweigh its costs.

Cape Wind spokesman Mark Rodgers said the ads advance losing arguments. He said Massachusetts can't remain competitive by importing all its energy, and Cape Wind offers a better way forward.

The Department of Energy is currently considering a loan guarantee for the project.

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