Massachusetts

A small plane crashed into a sheet metal shop Friday, killing six of the seven people aboard and igniting a fireball that sent workers scrambling for safety, authorities said. The crash killed a New York City real estate developer and his wife; two interior designers who were renovating the developer's vacation home; and the pilot and co-pilot. The couple's 13-year-old daughter was the only survivor.

A man who helped expose improper mutual fund trading at Putnam Investments is suing Massachusetts for money under the state's whistle-blower law after officials last month denied his request for an award, his lawyer said Tuesday. Peter Scannell, who rose to fame by alerting Massachusetts regulators to the practices at Boston-based Putnam, sued the state and its attorney general, under the state's False Claims Act. Scannell sought $15 million, or 30% of the fines that Putnam paid to the state.

A Massachusetts judge on Friday temporarily barred federal officials from deporting a large group of illegal immigrants snared in a factory raid last month. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Stearns granted the emergency request from lawyers for the detained immigrants, who argued that about 110 of 360 workers arrested may have agreed to waive an appeal of their deportation order under duress or with improper translators.

Eight telephone service providers and associations will ask the Massachusetts attorney general today to investigate whether Baby Bell companies conspired illegally to suppress competition. In the letter to be delivered to Atty. Gen. Tom Reilly, the group urges an investigation into whether the Bells violated Massachusetts law not only by allegedly arm-twisting their suppliers and manufacturers but also by dividing market territories and not competing against each other.

The Massachusetts Legislature moved closer Thursday to adopting a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage and establish civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. Dashing the hopes of same-sex marriage supporters who had hoped to kill the amendment, lawmakers voted just before midnight to keep the bipartisan compromise measure alive.

A Lowell, Mass., man was sentenced to six months in jail for beating his dog. It was the first time in at least 20 years that anyone in Massachusetts had been imprisoned for abusing an animal, animal rights advocates said. Kevin Deschene, 19, was convicted after a neighbor took pictures of him kicking and beating the Deschene family's German shepherd, Champ.

A man who fled during his trial nine years ago and was convicted of repeatedly raping three of his daughters was sentenced Monday in Springfield, Mass., to at least 36 years in prison. Garrett Stone's wife, Elizabeth, who had fled with him, was sentenced to two years in jail for failing to stop the abuse of her daughters. California police arrested the couple June 3 on a tip from a viewer who saw their story on Fox Broadcasting's "America's Most Wanted."

The father of the man accused of killing two abortion clinic workers said that he regrets not seeking help for his son after years of bizarre and destructive behavior. John C. Salvi Jr. said he decided not to get psychiatric help because he thought the boy was going through a phase and he didn't want damaging information in his son's medical records. Defense lawyers contend John C.