(NECN) - A devastating fire destroyed a city block in Lawrence, Massachusetts last month and left 200 people homeless. For some, the fire brought back memories of the so-called Flaming 90s' when fires broke out in the city almost every night.

For more on the clean up and what city officials are doing to help residents bounce back is Lawrence Mayor, Michael Sullivan.

(NECN) - More than two dozen kids, many of them students at Middlebury Union High School, were arraigned Monday on charges ranging from unlawful trespass and unlawful mischief to furnishing alcohol to minors.

On December 28th, police say 30-50 people gathered for an underage drinking party at the former summer home of poet Robert Frost.

(NECN) - Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and other state officials announced Thursday the launch of $12 million grant program to help spark life sciences research in the state.

The grants, ranging from $100,000-$250,000, are designed to increase industry-sponsored research, attract and keep nationally known faculty at Massachusetts colleges and help fund the research of new investigators working on life sciences.

(NECN) – Residents of Lincolnville, Maine are waging what could be called a mini-revolution against the state. At issue: the state's failure to repair two aging state roads that run through their mid-coast town.

When one drives into Lincolnville, the posted speed limit is 40 miles per hour, but locals say motorists would be crazy to drive that fast.

(NECN) - Massachusetts officials have launched a suicide prevention program for military veterans. They hope early intervention will save lives. More information from the Associated Press:

BOSTON (AP) - Outreach workers will travel the state to meet with veterans and their families discussing benefits and services available to them as part of the Statewide Advocacy for Veterans' Empowerment, or "SAVE" program.

It's a joint effort by the Department of Veterans' Services and the Department of Public Health.

(NECN) - The Boston area is home to a cemetery where some famous pets are laid to rest. Wildlife author and animal lover Vicki Croke joins with more information.

(NECN) - Mexican President Felipe Calderon will be speaking in Cambridge, Massachusetts at the Kennedy School of Government Monday night -- but not everyone is glad he's coming.

His visit is viewed as a high-stakes effort to shape the immigration debate during the U.S. presidential race. It comes at a time when both Republican and Democratic candidates are carefully calibrating their positions on hot-button issues such as the border wall, deportations, guest-worker programs and driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.

(NECN) - 18-year-old Enrique Baez pleads guilty to manslaughter in the shooting death of his friend last year.

19-year-old Cheyenne Baez, no relation to the defendant, was shot in the face in April 2007. According to the prosecutor, the friends had returned to Enrique Baez' home after attending a party and were joking around when Baez took out a loaded gun -- that unexpectedly fired, hitting the victim in the face.

A family member read a statement in court from Cheyenne Baez' mother, who doesn't believe it was an accident.

AMHERST, Mass. (AP) - Officials at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst have sent out a campus-wide e-mail urging peace after several violent incidents on and off campus.

The message was sent to more than 30,000 people on Sunday. The school's interim chancellor and the vice chancellor for student affairs are asking the campus to stand together to ensure people are safe.

Since the start of the month, there have been two racially tinged stabbings and an off-campus fight involving a dozen people in which bottles and lacrosse sticks were used as weapons.

BOSTON (AP) - A 51-year-old homeless man is being held without bail on a charge that he stabbed and killed another homeless man in a Chinatown apartment.

Anthony Chambers pleaded not guilty to murder in Boston Municipal Court on Monday.

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley alleges that a 28-year-old man was fatally stabbed after a verbal argument escalated to physical violence inside an apartment where both men were staying as guests.

Chambers was arrested a short time later. The victim's name is being withheld pending family notifications.