Boston News

A Boston building named for the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, for which private and federal funds will be used, won’t be merely a shrine, Kennedy’s widow said.

That taxpayer money will be used for the $60 million Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, scheduled to open in 2013 as part of the University of Massachusetts Boston, has raised some eyebrows, the Boston Globe reported Thursday.

Architectural plans have been unveiled for the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, which will sit adjacent to his brother’s presidential library in Boston.

The 44,000-square foot facility is designed by architect Rafael Vinoly and will be built with private and federal money. A centerpiece will be a replica of the Senate chamber where Kennedy served for 47 years until his death of brain cancer in August.

A Pittsburgh woman was arrested Tuesday for allegedly cheating advertisers and exhibitors out of thousands of dollars for a fake bridal show in Boston, and the FBI said she conducted similar scams in five other states.

Karen Tucker and an uncharged co-conspirator allegedly posed as representatives of a business known as The Boston 411, then led the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority to believe they would hold an extravagant home and bridal show at the Hynes Convention Center over three days in March.

Boston police are investigating the slaying of a man who was found shot Sunday night in the Roxbury neighborhood.

Police found the 19-year-old near the tennis courts in Washington Park at King Boulevard and Walnut Avenue at about 10:01 p.m., said Officer Eddy Chrispin, a police spokesman.

The Boston Globe’s Bryan Bender reported Friday that federal investigators “have identified several dozen Pentagon officials and contractors with high-level security clearances who allegedly purchased and downloaded child pornography, including an undisclosed number who used their government computers to obtain the illegal material.”

Employees under investigation have included individuals from “the National Security Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — which deal with some of the most sensitive work in intelligence and defense — among other organizations within the Defense Department,” the Globe reported, citing investigative reports.

Boston Scientific Corp said on Thursday it found problems with three older models of its implantable heart defibrillators that can prevent the devices from performing life-saving functions.

The world’s second largest maker of heart devices, which has been struggling with regulatory and product issues for the last several years, confirmed a Reuters report on Wednesday that the company would issue an advisory to doctors on three models of its implantable heart defibrillators, known as ICDs.

Shares of Boston Scientific Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!bsx/quotes/nls/bsx (BSX 5.91, -0.06, -1.01%) fell 4.3% to $6.00 Wednesday. The medical device developer and manufacturer reported second-quarter earnings late Tuesday, beating analysts’ expectations but notching a 38% drop in profit. Profit was $98 million, or 6 cents a share, from $158 million, or 10 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue also slid to $1.93 billion from $2.07 billion a year earlier. Boston Scientific forecast net sales for full year 2010 of between $7.6 and $7.9 billion. It also said it expected a net loss of between 91 cents and 81 cents a share for 2010.

The US Chess League, which will commence Aug. 23, has published its schedule for 2010. The Tennessee Tempo has been replaced by the Los Angeles Vibes. Two further teams have been added: one in St. Louis and a second team for Boston, which will be a sibling team to the already existing Boston Blitz.

Five people suffered minor injuries Friday when a duck boat crashed into several other vehicles in downtown Boston, Massachusetts.

The chain-reaction crash happened shortly after noon on a ramp from Embankment Road West to Charles Street Circle, Massachusetts State Police Trooper Thomas Murphy said. At least seven vehicles were involved.

Lawrence Frank, who was last seen heading for the unemployment line last December after the Nets started 0-16, has agreed to be the assistant coach on a team that came within one victory of the NBA title.

The former Nets coach has agreed to assist Doc Rivers and the Boston Celtics for just one season, essentially filling the role occupied by Tom Thibodeau, who left Rivers’ staff to to take the Chicago Bulls job.