YORK, Maine - The Stage Neck Inn is on fire Wednesday night, the second blaze at the town landmark in less than two weeks. As of 7:45 p.m., 12 fire engines were attending the four-alarm blaze. Firefighters from Portsmouth, Newington, Ogunquit and Kittery were among those assisting York firefighters.

A Jan. 17 fire at Stage Neck Inn caused $400,000 in damage. Updates to follow.

By Susan Morse
smorse@seacoastonline.com

NORTH HAMPTON - One year after two lives were lost when the fishing vessel Lady Luck sank off the coast of Maine, Coast Guard investigators have determined the vessel capsized and sank quickly.

By Holly Ramer
Associated Press Writer

DOVER - A mansion, a tunnel and a vanishing man: The mystery deepened Wednesday in the case of a man accused of faking an overnight disappearance in 2006 to attract attention to his flagging congressional campaign.

By Elizabeth Dinan

edinan@seacoastonline.com

PORTSMOUTH - Five months after his sister posted $50,000 cash bail to get him out of jail on charges alleging his failure to register as a sex offender, a city man was arrested Wednesday for the same offense.

By Chris Dornin
Golden Dome News

CONCORD -- The state's endangered free-standing charter schools would get a financial windfall from their neighboring school districts from legislation filed Wednesday after the usual deadline.

By Mike O'Neil
sports@seacoastonline.com

PORTSMOUTH - As Oyster River High School's Tim McDonnell left the visiting locker room on Tuesday night his coach, Don Maynard, called out to his scrappy guard, saying, "Nice job tonight, hero."

By Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS -- Democrat John Edwards bowed out of the race for the White House on Wednesday, saying it was time to step aside "so that history can blaze its path" in a campaign now left to Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

By Holly Ramer
Associated Press Writer

DOVER -- A young campaign staffer's testimony Wednesday shed little light on whether then-congressional candidate Gary Dodds faked his disappearance after a 2006 car crash to attract attention to his campaign.

By Elizabeth Dinan
edinan@seacoastonline.com

PORTSMOUTH -- When a Pheasant Lane resident heard her dogs barking Monday morning, she got out of the shower, looked out her window and saw a car drive off with her snowblower in the trunk.

By Elizabeth Dinan
edinan@seacoastonline.com

PORTSMOUTH — After the Jan. 10 sun had set, a thief shimmied under a work truck parked in the Gosling Road Clean Harbors parking lot, sawed off the catalytic converter, then stole it.

By Susan Morse
smorse@seacoastonline.com

SEABROOK -- In a “break and rake” drug bust in Seabrook Tuesday night, police used “flash bang” to apprehend two suspects who had cocaine, a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, shotguns, and other weapons inside of the home, according to Chief Patrick Manthorn.

By Jennifer Feals
jfeals@seacoastonline.com

CONCORD – The former supervisor at Exeter’s water treatment plant was sentenced to three years probation for altering three years of water quality reports.

By Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. military is developing contingency plans to deal with the possibility that a large spy satellite expected to fall to Earth in late February or early March could hit North America.

DOVER -- Gary Dodds faked his car accident, disappeared from the scene for more than 20 hours, and soaked his feet in cold water to make it look like he had frostbite as part of an elaborate ruse to gain notoriety and bolster his congressional campaign coffers, the prosecution argued Tuesday in opening arguments.