By Shana Wickett, Globe Correspondent

Sunny skies and temperatures in the low- to mid-30s characterize the weather today and tomorrow, but what about Wednesday?

“I don’t want to talk about Wednesday,” joked Alan Dunham, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Taunton. “Why should I ruin everyone’s day?”

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By Stefanie Geisler, Globe Correspondent

Despite the recession, the 2009 campaign of the Catholic Appeal exceeded its $15 million goal, the Archdiocese of Boston announced today. The campaign raised $15.1 million, equal to 2008's total.

“The success of this year's appeal in such a difficult economic climate demonstrates once again the generosity, faith, and commitment of the people of this Archdiocese to sustain our ministries,” Cardinal Seán O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston, said in a statement.

The fundraiser began last March and is the primary means of financial support for the Archdiocese's operations. Funds sustain training for clergy and laity, as well as the development of religious educational programs for children and young adults. Parishes, schools, and agencies also receive operational and financial services from the fund.

The Catholic Appeal has met or surpassed its fund raising goals every year since 2003. The 2010 campaign will begin on March 5.

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff

Police in Weymouth today arrested a pair of South Shore men, who are cousins, and charged them with setting two fires in vacant buildings there last week.

Joshua Hadfield, 24, of Weymouth and Brian Waugh, 26, of Whitman, face charges of breaking and entering in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony, and a litany of arson-related charges including burning a dwelling, burning a building, burning personal property, and malicious destruction.

On Jan. 30, firefighters responded to the first fire in the 800 block of Main Street. Days later, on Feb. 2, they responded to a similar fire in the 1000 block of Front Street, an abandoned building that was once used as a city firehouse. The fires were quickly ruled arson.

Mayor Susan M. Kay in a phone interview with the Globe, commended state and local officials for closing the cases so quickly. Kay, who was worried about more fires, said she was organizing city resources, including a technological mapping of abandoned buildings to help investigators, but the arrests were made before any of that was needed.

“Before we could even get the maps off the printer, they solved it,” Kay said. “What a great job they did. I’m extremely proud.”

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By Patricia Wen, Globe Staff

BROCKTON -- Jurors deliberated for about six hours today without reaching a verdict in the first-degree murder trial of Carolyn Riley, a 35-year-old South Shore woman accused of killing her 4-year-old daughter with an overdose of psychotropic drugs.

Today marked the second day jurors met behind closed doors. The panel, which listened to three weeks of testimony in the case, deliberated for four hours Friday afternoon before breaking for the weekend. If jurors do not acquit her, they also have the option of finding her guilty of lesser charges, such as second-degree murder or manslaughter.

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By Travis Anderson, Globe Correspondent, and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

WOBURN -- The teenager accused of murdering a classmate inside Lincoln-Sudbury High School told a friend he was being "persecuted'' because he tried to help the murder victim, and also said he was upset the real killer was "out there.''

John Odgren is charged with stabbing 15-year-old James F. Alenson to death inside a school bathroom on Jan. 19, 2007, a crime Middlesex prosecutors contend was committed without provocation by Odgren, a slightly built freshman who did not know Alenson.

Odgren was 16 at the time of the attack but is being tried as an adult. He has pleaded not guilty.

Today, Odgren's voice was heard in Middlesex Superior Court as prosecutors played recordings of conversations between Odgren and family and friends since he was ordered held without bail. Odgren attorneys have opposed using the tapes Supreme Judicial Court and fought all the way to the state's highest court, but lost last year.

In one of the recordings, Odgren told an unidentified friend that he did not kill Alenson. He said he was being "persecuted'' by authorities because he stayed in the bathroom after Alenson was attacked.

Odgren then tells the friend he is frustrated.

"It's just hard being locked up in here, known that he's out there,'' Odgren said.

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By Christina Pazzanese, Globe Correspondent. and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

WESTBOROUGH – The sister of a Shrewsbury man accused of killing his wife witnessed the arguments between the couple that escalated into fatal violence but failed to summon help for the woman, a prosecutor said today.

The sister also did not get the couple's two children out of the house until hours after their mother was dead, Worcester Assistant District Attorney Anthony Marrota said.

Lisa Ricardo, 38, pleaded not guilty to charges of being an accessory after the fact of murder and two counts of child endangerment in Westborough District Court for her actions last week as her brother, Keith M. Rosiello, allegedly murdered his wife, Maureen, inside their Deerfield Road home.

Rosiello has pleaded not guilty to a charge of first degree murder and is being held without bail.

Maureen Rosiello's death was the latest in a series of fatal domestic violencee incidents that have swept through Greater Boston.

In court today, Marrota said Ricardo was in the couple's home last Wednesday, and that she saw and heard the arguing as it unfolded. He also said that as a result of the fight, Maureen Rosiello suffered "apparent and obvious" injuries. The prosecutor said Ricardo tried to perform CPR on the woman, but did not call for medical help.

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By Globe Staff

Retired Supreme Court justice David H. Souter will be the principal speaker at Harvard University's commencement this spring, the college said today.

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By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

Flashing a V for victory sign, Jill Stein, a Lexington doctor and Green-Rainbow Party candidate, stood on the steps of the State House today and launched her second long-shot bid for governor with a rousing attack on Beacon Hill for imposing a “corruption tax” on everyday citizens.

“If you’ve had enough business as usual, if you’ve had enough of the culture of influence, if you’ve had enough payoffs and layoffs and rip-offs and bailouts, this is the campaign for you,” Stein told about three dozen cheering supporters who waved her green campaign signs.

Stein won 3.5 percent of the vote in the 2002 governor’s race and 18 percent of the vote in the 2006 secretary of state race. She also ran unsuccessfully for state representative in 2004.

Stein’s candidacy could pose a problem for Governor Deval Patrick by peeling off his support from liberal voters, some of whom have been frustrated with some of his political priorities. Stein said in an interview after her announcement that Patrick “could be fighting for the ordinary people of the Commonwealth, and that’s what we intend to do.”

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Vanessa Barros, 8, got help studying for a spelling test in the resource center at the Cape Verdean Association of Brockton. The Cape Verdean community has been impacted by a rash of shootings involving victims of Cape Verdean descent. Globe Staff Photo/Yoon Byun

Globe Staff Photo/Yoon Byun

Ted Gartland, a dayside photo editor at the Globe, has been taking pictures in Greater Boston since 1971. Each weekday, he highlights an outtake that did not appear in the morning paper. To view the work of more Globe photographers, click here. To watch Gartland's weekly segment on NECN, click here.

By Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff

A teenager was struck by a car this morning at the intersection of Norfolk and Babson streets in Mattapan, possibly while on his way to school, Boston police said.

The 13-year-old boy, who was not identified, was transported to Boston Medical Center for treatment of what police called non-life-threatening injuries.

No one was charged in the incident. Police said the driver stopped his car to tend to the teenager.

The accident occurred at 7:18. Police believe the teenager may have been heading to school – the accident was near the Mildred Avenue Middle School on Babson Street.

By John M. Guilfoil and Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. -- A blast at a gas-fired power plant that was under construction on the banks of the Connecticut River has left five dead and at least a dozen injured, according to the mayor's office.

The explosion happened at the Kleen Energy power plant on River Road, rocking the area for miles around. Firefighters, police officers, and rescue crews have been swarming the scene, where a fire was burning but has now been put out.

"We had a massive explosion, multiple injuries, possible fatalities...," Officer George Yepes of the Middletown Police Department said in a brief telephone interview early today.

The cause of the explosion was not clear, said Al Santostefano, deputy fire marshal for Middletown, but was not suspicious. "This is a construction accident," he said.

Santostefano said there were 50 workers in the plant in the time of the explosion, about 11 a.m.

“I live about five miles away in Middletown, and at 11 a.m. I felt a shake, and I said to myself, ‘something happened somewhere’ and then my pager went off and here I am,” Santostefano said.

Fire crews from many area communities, some as far as 50 miles away, responded. About 100 firefighters are sifting through the rubble, searching for anyone who may be trapped.

The plant is at least a mile from the nearest house, according to Santostefano. It was scheduled to come online this fall, and has been under construction for the past two years.

Gerald E. Daley, a member of the Middletown Common Council, also said the gas-fired plant was under construction and that today was the first day that its power-generating systems were being tested. Workers were on scene when the blast occurred, he said.

"I heard the explosion," he said. "It shook our house."

Middletown Mayor Sebastian N. Giuliano and Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell were on the scene this afternoon.

"The mayor has been assured that this is an industrial accident," said a statement released by Giuliano's office today. "No terrorism is suspected."

Jamie Halliwell, who lives a few miles from the plant, said she heard the blast. "It felt like an earthquake," she said.

News footage showed a large column of smoke rising above the plant.

Keith M. Rosiello (Telegram and Gazette photo)

By Jeannie Nuss, Globe Correspondent and Kay Lazar, Globe Staff

SHREWSBURY --The Rosiellos were a quiet family who kept to themselves, like most residents on Deerfield Road in Shrewsbury, neighbors said today.

"In the summertime, their windows were wide open and we never heard anything, never heard any arguing. That's why it's such a shock," said Grace Macdonald, who has lived next door to the Rosiellos for 30 years.

On Thursday, Keith Rosiello allegedly killed his 44-year-old wife, Maureen, and the mother of their two children, in their home. Rosiello is being held without bail after he pleaded not guilty to a murder charge on Friday.

Hours after Rosiello was in court, authorities arrested his sister, 38-year-old Lisa Ricardo, for charges of being an accessory after the murder and two counts of child endangerment. No one answered the door at Ricardo's Raynham home today.

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By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

An alleged drunk driver is set to be arraigned Monday for killing a 56-year-old Lawrence man as he was jogging along Rte. 110 in Methuen on Friday morning, Steve O'Connell, a spokesman for Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said today.

The victim, Lay Bou, regularly jogged along the road, which is also known as Merrimack Street, said O'Connell.

The driver was identified as David Diaz, 22, of Cornish Street in Lawrence.

After being struck, Bou was rushed to Holy Family Hospital in Methuen where he was pronounced dead. Diaz was also taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Diaz is being held on $25,000 cash bail and is expected to be arraigned Monday in Lawrence District Court, O'Connell said.

Relatives of Bou could not be reached for comment today.

By Emma Stickgold, Globe Correspondent and Kay Lazar, Globe Staff

WESTFORD -- If Olivia Marchand did not know all the lyrics of a song, she filled in gaps with her own words. A plastic Godiva membership card kept on the Westford Academy senior's keychain meant she could indulge in a chocolate truffle every month -- something she looked forward to with great anticipation. She loved flowers and kept them long past their prime, and if you texted or called her, she got back to you within seconds.

Nicole Kibblehouse, who described herself as Marchand's best friend, told hundreds of people who filled the pews of St. Catherine's of Alexandria Church in Westford this morning she "was the most understanding person I know."

On Monday night, at Marchand's house on Makepeace Road, authorities said, her father Brian, 59, shot the 17-year-old and her mother before turning the gun on himself. Her mother Jody, 50, survived, and is recovering at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. Brian, 59, and Olivia were found dead at the scene.

The death of the popular Westford teen is among several domestic homicides that have befallen the Greater Boston area recently.

Also this afternoon, visiting hours were being held for Brian Marchand in Chelmsford at the Blake Funeral Home.

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Road closures and other transportation advisories for the week of Feb. 7:

Two to three lanes of I-93 South will be closed approaching and through downtown Monday through Thursday from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The Storrow Drive on-ramp to I-93 South will be closed Thursday from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

I-93 South Exit 23 to Purchase Street will be closed Sunday through Friday from 11:30 p.m. until 5 a.m.

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By Michael P. Corcoran, Globe Correspondent

A fire caused by the careless disposal of a cigarette heavily damaged a Dorchester home this morning, displacing 13 people, a Boston Fire Department spokesman said today.

The fire, which broke out on the third level of a three-family house on Althea Street in Dorchester at about 7:45 a.m., caused an estimated $150,000 in damage, according to Steve MacDonald.

There were no injuries but six children and seven adults were left homeless, MacDonald said. The American Red Cross is assisting those displaced by the blaze.

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By Sean Teehan, Globe Correspondent

One man was killed Friday night on the Massachusetts Turnpike in western Massachusetts when his vehicle crossed the median and slammed head-on into a tractor-trailer unit, State Police said today.

The identity of the driver hasn't been determined.

Police said the man was driving a 1999 Pontiac Sunfire eastbound on the Pike in Blandford when his car suddenly cut across the median and collided with the westbound truck. The crash is under investigation and police said it was not immediately clear why the driver lost control of his vehicle.

The truck driver was identified as John Chamberlain, 52, of Tucker, Ga. He sustained minor injuries and wasn't transported to a hospital, Sergeant David Mahan, a State Police spokesman, said.

The driver of the other vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash occurred around 10:25 p.m. and traffic was diverted between Exits 2 and 3 for about four hours while the investigation was underway, police said.

Christine Benkoski works shoveling snow in front of her home where at least 30-inches of snow during a winter storm in Ellicott City, Md., Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

By Michael P. Corcoran, Globe Correspondent

The largest snowstorm to wallop the Washington D.C. area in 90 years has disrupted travel plans for many in the Boston area scheduled to travel throughout the Northeast today.

The nation's capital, Virginia, and Maryland have been hit with as much as 30 inches of snow in a storm that is expected to last throughout Saturday, according to Jared Klein, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Sterling Virginia, which covers the Washington D.C/Baltimore area.

The highest snowfall totals are in Baltimore and the Northwest suburbs of Washington D.C., he said.

"In Baltimore we might see a record snowfall," Klein said. The record is 26.8 inches.

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By Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff

The mother of two children killed in a fire two years ago in South Boston testified that she heard her lover pounding on the door and cursing her on the night of the fire. She went back to bed, she said, but then heard a crackling sound and saw an "orange ball of flames."

Anna Reisopolous wept constantly as she testified today in the Suffolk Superior Court murder trial of her lover, Nicole Chuminski. Chuminski is charged with setting the April 6, 2008 fire that killed Reisopolous's children, Acia Johnson, 14, and Sophia, 3.

"I heard banging on my front door downstairs," Reisopolous testified. "I could hear the doorknob as if the door was trying to be opened."

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Alex Wong/Getty Images

Brown met with Kennedy in January, shortly after Brown's upset election.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Republican Senator Scott Brown won't be distracted from the issues by negative attacks, a spokesman said today, a day after Representative Patrick Kennedy reportedly described Brown's candidacy as a "joke."

"Senator Brown is eager to start working on behalf of Massachusetts families on policies that will create jobs and help the economy. He won't be sidetracked by negative partisan attacks that do nothing to help Massachusetts families find work," said Felix Browne, a Brown spokesman.

Kennedy, a Democrat from Rhode Island whose father held Brown's seat for 47 years until his death last year, said Thursday that "Brown's whole candidacy was shown to be a joke today when he was sworn in early in order to cast his first vote as an objection to Obama's appointment to the NLRB," according to The Hill's Blog Briefing Room.

A spokeswoman for Kennedy didn't immediately return messages seeking comment.

Brown abruptly announced Wednesday that he wanted to be sworn in Thursday, a week earlier than the Feb. 11 swearing-in his campaign had been planning. Brown has said he wanted to start working immediately on urgent issues, but his decision sparked speculation about his motives.

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