Taunton

Freight train derails, spills gallons of fuel

A CSX freight train derailed in a wooded area in on Wednesday, and some 1,800 gallons of fuel spilled from the engine onto the tracks and ground underneath, according to the Taunton Fire Department. No one was injured in the derailment, which took place on tracks used only by commercial train, Fire Chief Timothy J. Bradshaw wrote in an statement. The Department of Environmental Protection joined Taunton firefighters at the scene and crews were working to control the spread of the fuel, according to Bradsaw. The department will also be bringing in equipment to remove contaminated soil from the area. The front engine pulling the train went off the tracks near Mazzone Boulevard at 7:49 a.m.

New London, Conn.

Coast Guard cadets face harassment discipline

The US Coast Guard Academy says an investigator has recommended discipline against two white cadets for harassing a black classmate. The investigation was prompted by an October incident in which a cadet played a racially offensive song in the black cadet’s room. After leaving to tell a peer counselor, the black cadet returned to find the background screen on his computer had been changed to show the Mississippi state flag, which includes the Confederate battle flag. The academy said Wednesday two investigations by the Coast Guard found the white cadets harassed their classmate. An investigator recommended the students be charged with violations of the Regulations of the Corps of Cadets, but it’s unclear what discipline that would entail. Superintendent Rear Admiral James Rendon has said he was angered by the episode. (AP)

Hartford

Flags lowered to mark Newtown 5th year

Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy will direct all US and state flags to be lowered to half-staff in remembrance of the children and educators killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The flags will be lowered from sunrise to sunset on Thursday. That day will mark five years since Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children and six educators at the Newtown school before turning the gun on himself. The Democratic governor says all other flags will also be lowered on Thursday. (AP)

Bristol, N.H.

Police investigate dogs killed in kennel fires

Police in Bristol are investigating the death of three dozen dogs killed in two separate fires at the same kennel. WMUR-TV reports police in Bristol said the fires broke out three weeks apart at a kennel where German Shepherds are bred. Police say three adult dogs and 26 puppies were killed in a fire Wednesday, which may have been caused by a heat lamp. Authorities say two adult dogs and five newborn puppies were killed in a fire at the same location three weeks ago. They said a knocked-over heat lamp caused that fire and destroyed a home. (AP)

Providence

LNG terminal approved for waterfront area

Rhode Island regulators say a liquefied natural gas facility on the Providence waterfront does not violate state policy, despite the uproar from local residents. The Providence Journal reports the Coastal Resources Management Council made their decision Tuesday. Opponents say the project will further harm the environment. (AP)