Ian Pickus

Attorney General Martha Coakley is seeking a $9.7 million fine against NSTAR after her office found the utility failed to adequately prepare, respond, and communicate during Tropical Storm Irene and the October 2011 snowstorm.

Coakley's office made the recommendation in a brief filed Tuesday with the Department of Public Utilities which has the authority to impose the fine.

Authorities say tests conducted at the site of a fire at a transformer recycling company, and within a 15-mile radius, show no detectable levels of potential carcinogens.

Columbia County officials say the state Department of Environmental Conservation informed them of its PCB test results for TCI of New York, where a large fire erupted Aug. 1. As a result, state health officials say there is no reason to believe there is a threat to public health. State agriculture officials also say there are no concerns about livestock or produce.

President Barack Obama is labeling opponent Mitt Romney's tax plan as "Romney Hood," saying it takes from the middle class and gives to the rich.

Speaking last night at a campaign event in Connecticut, Obama said the GOP plan "is like Robin Hood in reverse."

Obama says Romney's tax plan would give tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans while forcing middle-class families to pay up to $2,000 a year in additional taxes.

WAMC's Ian Pickus and resident quizzer Mike Nothnagel boldly go where no quiz segments have gone before: to the realm of exploration.

Last week's challenge
Start with the name ANSEL ADAMS. Add a letter, then rearrange the letters to spell the names of three things you might see in a photograph of a beach.
Answer: If you add a P, you can spell PALM, SAND, and SEA.

LACONIA, N.H.—First Lady Michelle Obama will make a series of New Hampshire campaign stops as she rallies support for the President.

Mrs. Obama plans to attend a fundraiser in Holderness early Thursday afternoon and then make public appearances at Laconia Middle School at 3 p.m. and at the field house at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester at 5:15 p.m.  The First Lady's events in Laconia and Manchester are free and open to the public. Tickets are required due to limited space, and will be available to the public on a first come, first serve basis.

 A federal judge in Connecticut has ruled that part of a federal law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman and denies federal benefits to married gay couples is unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford ruled Tuesday that the provision in the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act violates the Fifth Amendment right to equal protection.

The ruling came in the case of six married same-sex couples and a widower who sued after being denied federal benefits. The plaintiffs are from Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont.

WAMC's Ian Pickus speaks with Rob Reid, the founder of Listen.com, which created Rhapsody, and the author of Year Zero, his debut novel.

Body piercing just got a bit more prickly in New York.

Under a law signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, anyone under 18 years old will have to get written permission from their parents or legal guardians before piercing anything on their bodies.

Cuomo and the Legislature overwhelmingly passed the law in June. They say it will reduce infections and the spread of blood-borne diseases. Cuomo said about 20 percent of piercings result in infection.

WAMC's Ian Pickus speaks with living legend Buddy Guy, one of the blues' most accomplished guitarists and the author of a new memoir called When I Left Home.