BOSTON

St. Patrick’s Day fete secures two hosts

The Dorchester and South Boston residents in the First Suffolk district are still without a state senator, but another vacant post last held by Linda Dorcena Forry has been filled: the host of Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day breakfast. Forry’s Jan. 26 resignation from the Senate for a job at Suffolk Construction left the annual tradition without an emcee to preside over the jests and jabs traded onstage by state and city political figures. Congressman Stephen Lynch, a South Boston Democrat, will take the mic as this year’s host, with City Councilor Michael Flaherty of South Boston serving as co-host, according to Forry’s office. “We’re very happy the tradition of the breakfast lives on,’’ said Patrick O’Brien, the legislative and policy director in Forry’s office. (SHNS)

NEEDHAM

Hundreds of sunfish found dead in pond

A large number of sunfish were found dead of natural causes in a Cutler Park Reservation pond in Needham Tuesday morning, officials said. After receiving a call from a resident, officials quickly confirmed that Kendrick Pond had been hit with a natural winter fish kill, caused by a lack of dissolved oxygen rather than toxins or pollutants, said Marion Larson, spokeswoman of Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Larson said this phenomenon is common especially in shallow ponds, and occurs when a blanket of snow covers a frozen pond, preventing sunlight from reaching aquatic plants and creating enough oxygen in the water for wildlife.

WARSAW, POLAND

Boston-based Jewish group removes video

A prominent Jewish-American foundation based in Boston removed a video from YouTube that had sparked outrage in Poland and beyond on Wednesday with its provocative use of the historically inaccurate term ‘‘Polish Holocaust’’ to protest a controversial new Polish law criminalizing some comments about the Holocaust. The private Ruderman Family Foundation also launched a campaign calling for the United States to sever its ties with Poland, an ally in NATO where the US has recently deployed troops. The foundation put out the video on Wednesday in reaction to the new Polish law, which criminalizes falsely attributing the Holocaust crimes of Nazi Germany to Poland. The measure has angered Israel, where it is seen as an attempt to whitewash the actions of Poles who killed Jews during World War II. The provocative use of the term ‘‘Polish Holocaust’’ in the video was seen as hugely offensive to many in Poland. Many of Nazi Germany’s death camps, like Auschwitz, were located in German-occupied Poland. Poles had no role in operating them but accounted for the largest number of victims, after Jews. Multiple attempts by the Associated Press to reach the foundation by phone were unsuccessful. But Jonathan Ornstein, director of the Jewish Community Center in Krakow, told the AP that he explained to the president Jay Ruderman how troubling the video was and was assured that the video would be removed. Later in the evening the video was taken down. (AP)

AUBURN, MAINE

Ice fisherman saves friend, 77, on pond

An ice fisherman with no first-aid training saved his friend who collapsed on a frozen pond by performing CPR. Gary Croteau tells the Sun Journal he had invited his friend out to Taylor Pond in Auburn on Saturday for ice fishing. Croteau and his friend were drilling holes in the pond when the 77-year-old suddenly collapsed and stopped breathing. Croteau says he administered CPR as someone on the shore called 911. His friend started breathing again before he was taken to Central Maine Medical Center for treatment. The friend is in good condition. (AP)