news

US kills al-Qaida-linked militant in Pakistan

AP Wire — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) - A U.S. drone fired two missiles at a house in Pakistan's northwest tribal region today, killing five suspected militants, intelligence officials said. The Taliban identified one of them as a prominent commander who has served as a key link to al-Qaida.

Health care's new wave: Shift from treating sickness to ensuring health

Chad Cain — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

NORTHAMPTON - When Cooley Dickinson Hospital and its physicians group inked a deal last fall with Blue Cross Blue Shield to launch a new way of paying for medical care, it joined the vanguard of a movement that many believe will reshape health care in America.

• In one patient's home: Powering a new self-reliance

Mass. to get $318M, keep 2 claims open

AP Wire — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

BOSTON - Massachusetts will receive nearly $318 million from a national settlement announced Thursday with mortgage lenders over abusive foreclosure practices, Attorney General Martha Coakley said.

Massachusetts among 10 states to get waiver from No Child Left Behind requirements

AP Wire — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama today will free 10 states from the strict and sweeping requirements of the No Child Left Behind law, giving leeway to states that promise to improve how they prepare and evaluate students, The Associated Press has learned.

'No Child' left behind: Feds allow state to set rules for school progress

Daily Hampshire Gazette — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

Area school leaders welcomed the announcement Thursday that Massachusetts is among 10 states the U.S. Department of Education freed from some of the stricter requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law. The change gives them needed leeway and sets more meaningful targets for student progress, they said.

• Waiver details

Humanitarian crisis deepens in Syrian city of Homs

AP Wire — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

BEIRUT (AP) - Between blasts of rockets and mortar fire, Syrians used loudspeakers to call for blood donations and medical supplies Thursday in the stricken city of Homs, where a weeklong government offensive has created a deepening humanitarian crisis.

Priest sounds alarm on parish consolidations

AP Wire — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

BOSTON - The Boston Archdiocese's proposal to cut costs by organizing its 290 parishes into 125 groups that share resources could crush its pastors, who now face a bleak future after sustaining the church through the abuse scandal, a veteran priest wrote in a letter to Cardinal Sean O'Malley obtained by The Associated Press.