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This Hour: Latest Massachusetts news, sports, business and entertainment

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BOSTON MARATHON SHOOTING

Man shot to death while questioned in Boston probe

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Officials say a Chechen immigrant who was being questioned about his ties to 1 of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects was shot to death after a violent confrontation with an FBI agent.

Three law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said earlier Wednesday that Ibragim Todashev lunged at the FBI agent with a knife before he was shot. However, 2 of those officials said later Wednesday it was no longer clear whether Todashev lunged at the agent with a knife. The third had not received any new information since earlier in the day.

The FBI has publicly characterized the incident as a violent confrontation, providing no other details of what happened inside a townhouse in Orlando, Fla., before Todashev was shot.

MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET-TERRORISM

Mass. lawmaker: Recoup benefits from terrorists

BOSTON (AP) - The state Senate has adopted a proposal allowing Massachusetts to recoup public benefits given to anyone later convicted of using of a weapon of mass destruction.

Gloucester Republican state Sen. Bruce Tarr offered the proposal as an amendment to the Senate version of the state budget.

It would allow the attorney general to recover "any and all money" from anyone convicted of a terrorist act "who has previously collected public assistance, financial assistance or received any other direct financial benefit from the state."

The money would benefit any victims of the attack.

State officials have confirmed that Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, his wife and toddler daughter received welfare benefits. Tsarnaev was killed in a police chase. His 19-year-old brother, Dzhohkar, was arrested.

The brothers also received welfare benefits as children through their parents.

WHITEY BULGER

Bulger attorney says informant should be exposed

BOSTON (AP) - An attorney for reputed gangster James "Whitey" Bulger is arguing the government should reveal the name of a confidential informant the defense thinks could undermine two star prosecution witnesses.

During a pretrial hearing Wednesday, attorney Hank Brennan said providing the informant's name is critical to assessing the credibility of John Martorano and Kevin Weeks.

The defense claims the informant said Weeks and Martorano assured certain people they wouldn't implicate them to law enforcement. Brennan noted to U.S. District Judge Denise Casper that the government has previously allowed witnesses to implicate innocent people to protect friends, citing a1965 gang murder in which four men were wrongly accused.

But prosecutors said they shouldn't be forced to expose an informant who was passing on "street talk."

Bulger is accused of participating in 19 murders. His trial begins next month.

FUGITIVE RAPIST CAUGHT

Convicted rapist faces sentencing 30 years later

DEDHAM, Mass. (AP) - A man convicted of raping three women in Massachusetts faces sentencing more than three decades after he fled the state and began living a secret life in Maine.

Gary Alan 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 a 52-year-old man with a wife and two grown children.

Irving is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday in Norfolk Superior Court. He faces a possible life sentence.

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

MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE-RESIGNATION

Worcester Democratic State Rep. Fresolo resigning

BOSTON (AP) - A Worcester state representative is resigning.

Rep. John Fresolo issued a statement that was read on the House floor Wednesday saying he could no longer effectively serve his district.

The statement did not indicate what prompted the decision. Fresolo did not immediately return phone calls and emails requesting comment.

Fresolo told The Telegram & Gazette on Wednesday that the resignation was part of a negotiated settlement with the House Ethics Committee.

Fresolo declined to discuss the nature of the settlement saying that under House rules investigations by the Ethics Committee are confidential.

The Worcester Democrat also told the newspaper he had never intentionally violated House rules as a member.

A spokesman for House Speaker Robert DeLeo said Fresolo wasn't pressured to resign and his resignation was "not the product of negotiations."

Fresolo has served since 1999.

JUVENILE OFFENDERS

Mass. bill would try 17-year-olds as juveniles

BOSTON (AP) - The Massachusetts House has approved a change in how the state's court system handles teenage offenders.

The bill that passed the House unanimously on Wednesday would treat 17-year-olds accused of most crimes as juveniles, meaning their cases would automatically go to juvenile court instead of adult court.

Supporters of the measure said Massachusetts was 1 of only 11 states in which 17-year-olds are prosecuted as adults. In most states, adult court jurisdiction begins at age 18.

Judges could still impose adult sentences on 17-year-olds convicted of very serious crimes, and all murder cases would still be tried in adult court.

Backers of the legislation say passage would help Massachusetts comply with a federal law that seeks to reduce prison rapes by requiring that younger inmates be separated from adult prisoners.

GOOD SAMARITAN BILL

Mass. Senate bill would protect first responders

BOSTON (AP) - The Massachusetts Senate has passed a bill to ensure that off-duty first responders who provide emergency care are not subject to lawsuits.

Senate President Therese Murray said the so-called "Good Samaritan Bill" will provide legal protections for off-duty firefighters and emergency medical technicians who race to help in the event of a disaster like the Boston Marathon bombings.

She said existing "Good Samaritan" laws don't currently apply to off-duty first responders whose professional responsibilities include providing emergency medical care.

The bill's lead sponsor, Walpole state Sen. James Timilty, said the bill would also apply during everyday occurrences, like a traffic accident or a child injured on a ball field.

Supporters said those who rush to help shouldn't have to worry about lawsuits.

This bill now heads to the Massachusetts House.

PEDESTRIAN STRUCK-WAREHAM

Pedestrian struck and killed in Mass.

WAREHAM, Mass. (AP) - Authorities say a woman has been struck and killed while trying to cross a road in Wareham.

Police responded to Cranberry Highway at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday on a report of a motor vehicle accident involving a pedestrian.

They say a woman was hit by a Jeep while trying to cross the road.

She was pronounced dead at the scene. Her name was not immediately released.

The driver of the Jeep was not injured.

Wareham police and Massachusetts State Police continue to investigate.

BOOKS-ELIZABETH WARREN

Publisher: Sen. Warren book coming out in 2014

NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a favorite among liberals for her forceful advocacy for consumers and attacks against the financial industry, has a book deal.

Henry Holt and Company announced Wednesday that the Massachusetts Democrat has an agreement with the publisher. The book, currently untitled, is scheduled to be released in spring 2014.

Warren will write about her childhood and early professional life, but the book will mostly be a "rousing call" for the middle class. She will describe her work on creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and her opposition to "powerful interests" in Washington and on Wall Street.

Warren was well represented for her book. Negotiations were handled by Robert Barnett, the Washington attorney whose clients have ranged from President Barack Obama to former Treasury Secretaries Henry Paulson and Timothy Geithner.

MEMORIAL DAY-FLAGS

Boston Common observance honors state's war dead

BOSTON (AP) - A special service on Boston Common is honoring people who died in service to the nation since the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

On Thursday morning, their 170 names will be read as flags are placed in their honor at a ceremony attended by Gov. Deval Patrick and other officials and family members.

The event sponsored by the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund is part of a larger volunteer effort planting nearly 33,000 8-by-12-inch flags on the Common to honor Massachusetts' war dead from the Civil War to the present.

More than 300 volunteers began placing the flags on Wednesday and others will watch over the flags through the Memorial Day weekend.

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