Patriots-49ers Are Super Bowl Favorites


Patriots Are 9.5-Point Favorites Over Ravens. The LVH PlayBook also picked a Patriots-49ers Super Bowl match-up: The Patriots are at 3-to-2 odds while the 49ers are 9-to-4 following Saturday’s games.  [CBSSports.com]

Gabriel Clarke, 13-Year-Old Boy Shot in Stomach While Walking to Church, Is Recovering. Police are still investigating who shot Clarke as he walked to choir practice on Friday night. Clarke has undergone surgery and will remain in the hospital for 10 days, according to Rev. Nigel G. David Sr., of the Berea Seventh-day Adventist Church. The shooting reverberated throughout the community over the weekend, causing religious and community leaders to discuss gun violence and gun control. Bishop John M. Borders III, of the Morning Star Baptist Church in Mattapan, eluded to the 2010 quadruple slaying in Mattapan, according to the Globe:

“It is about time for the NRA to listen to some black preachers. If they want to know whether or not we should do something about the amount of firearms in the United States of America, just ask me what it’s like to bury a 2-year-old in the same casket as his mother. Ask me what it is to have four people shot and left naked in the street 1,000 yards from the house of worship.”  [Globe]

Aaron Swartz’s Family and Partner Release Statement After His Death. “Aaron’s death is not simply a personal tragedy,” the statement said. “It is the product of a criminal justice system rife with intimidation and prosecutorial overreach. Decisions made by officials in the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s office and at MIT contributed to his death. The US Attorney’s office pursued an exceptionally harsh array of charges, carrying potentially over 30 years in prison, to punish an alleged crime that had no victims. Meanwhile, unlike JSTOR, MIT refused to stand up for Aaron and its own community’s most cherished principles.”  [rememberaaronsw.com]

MIT President Rafael Reif Responds to Swartz’s Death. “I want to express very clearly that I and all of us at MIT are extremely saddened by the death of this promising young man who touched the lives of so many,” Reif wrote. “It pains me to think that MIT played any role in a series of events that have ended in tragedy.”  [MIT]

East Boston Couple Who Survived Costa Concordia Release Book, CD. One year after the cruise ship struck a reef off the western coast of Italy—resulting in 30 confirmed passenger deaths and two still missing—Benji Smith and Emily Lau, who honeymooned on the ship, released works that helped with their healing process. Smith released a memoir titled “Abandoned Ship” (available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble), and Lau, a classically trained musician, composed an album titled “Isle of Lucidity” (available at Amazon and iTunes).  [WBZ]

Looking for a Flu Shot at Rite Aid or CVS Is Like Looking for a Flashlight During Sandy. As demand peaks, the stores are tapped out.  [Boston Business Journal]