Travel Plans

For the Bruins, a well-earned holiday break concludes today. They will gather at Hanscom Field this morning, board their westbound charter, and practice at Jobing.com Arena this afternoon to prepare for tomorrow's game against Phoenix. They better have gotten their rest. The Bruins started their Stanley Cup defense with 13 home dates in the first 17 games. They pitched that gift out the window by starting the season 10-7-0, which was only rescued by seven straight wins to close out the segment.

WASHINGTON — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will suspend his presidential candidacy after winning just two Republican primaries and falling far behind in the delegate count to his party's presumptive nominee, Mitt Romney, a person familiar with his plans said. Gingrich, who had vowed to stay in the race until the party's Aug. 27 national convention in Tampa, Fla., said in an NBC interview on Monday that he would reassess his candidacy based his showing in the April 24 Delaware primary.

Stay home if you can. A flood of 1.6 million more Americans are expected to travel this Thanksgiving than last, overwhelming interstates, rest stops, and gas stations. Here in New England, a torrent of rain today is expected to make a miserable driving day even worse. Imagine a parking-lot type of day on the Massachusetts Turnpike. Then add 1 to 2 inches of driving rain. "I think waiting until Thursday is a great option for a lot of people," said Mary Maguire of AAA Southern New England.

Playing 24 of their final 38 games on the road - beginning tomorrow in Chicago with a five-game road trip that carries through the All-Star break - the Celtics are preparing themselves for a stretch that will likely define their season. After tonight's game at TD Garden against the Pistons, the Celtics won't return home for two weeks. Fourteen of the next 19 are on the road, including a treacherous eight-game trip in March that carries through four time zones. They were eased into this lockout schedule with a lot of home games, but coach Doc Rivers realized it would conclude abruptly.

Playing 24 of their final 38 games on the road - beginning tomorrow in Chicago with a five-game road trip that carries through the All-Star break - the Celtics are preparing themselves for a stretch that will likely define their season. After tonight's game at TD Garden against the Pistons, the Celtics won't return home for two weeks. Fourteen of the next 19 are on the road, including a treacherous eight-game trip in March that carries through four time zones. They were eased into this lockout schedule with a lot of home games, but coach Doc Rivers realized it would conclude abruptly.

WASHINGTON -- The FBI and three other federal law enforcement agencies will share their travel plans with the Federal Air Marshal Service to avoid scheduling armed officers from two agencies on the same flight, air marshal chief Thomas Quinn said yesterday. Quinn said the agreement, which also involves the Drug Enforcement Agency, the US Marshal Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, will take effect once the agencies figure out how to get their computers to talk to each other.

Larry Bird leaned on Wayne Lebeaux back in the day. Now the longtime Framingham resident tends to Bruce Springsteen and Ringo Starr. It's a good thing Lebeaux isn't the star-struck type. From working for the Boston Celtics in the halcyon Bird era to his current job as road manager for the Boss and the former Beatle, Lebeaux insists: "I'm not awed by anybody, except when I met Robert De Niro. " It's that coolness, along with his reliability, that Lebeaux's clients rely on when they go on tour.

Dennis Hopper has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and is canceling all travel plans to focus on treatment, his manager said. The 73-year-old actor and artist is being treated through a “special program’’ at the University of Southern California, Sam Maydew said. Asked about Hopper’s prognosis, Maydew said, “We’re hoping for the best.’’ He would not elaborate on the actor’s condition. Three to stand trial A judge yesterday ordered Anna Nicole Smith ’s boyfriend and two doctors to stand trial on charges of illegally funneling...

Union officials in Sweden say some 400 cabin crew members have gone on strike after they failed to reach an agreement with three airlines over working hours. The union, called Unionen, says the stewards who work for TUIfly Nordic, Novair and Primera Air went on strile on Tuesday. It says it wants its members to work a maximum of 42 hours a week, while the employers want to be able to schedule the cabin crew to work up to 60 hours a week. The three airlines fly for package holiday organizers Apollo, Fritidsresor and Solresor.

WASHINGTON — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will suspend his presidential candidacy after winning just two Republican primaries and falling far behind in the delegate count to his party's presumptive nominee, Mitt Romney, a person familiar with his plans said. Gingrich, who had vowed to stay in the race until the party's Aug. 27 national convention in Tampa, Fla., said in an NBC interview on Monday that he would reassess his candidacy based his showing in the April 24 Delaware primary.

Union officials in Sweden say some 400 cabin crew members have gone on strike after they failed to reach an agreement with three airlines over working hours. The union, called Unionen, says the stewards who work for TUIfly Nordic, Novair and Primera Air went on strile on Tuesday. It says it wants its members to work a maximum of 42 hours a week, while the employers want to be able to schedule the cabin crew to work up to 60 hours a week. The three airlines fly for package holiday organizers Apollo, Fritidsresor and Solresor.

Two men from Puerto Rico were arrested at Logan Airport last night after a State Police dog found 4 kilograms of cocaine in their suitcases, authorities said. Adam I. Miranda, 18, and Luis Robles, 24, both of San Juan, were charged with trafficking in cocaine over 200 grams and conspiracy to violate narcotics laws, State Police said in a statement. They will be arraigned in East Boston District Court today. In a press release, State Police said members of the Logan Airport Task Force approached the two men after they arrived at Terminal E around 7:15...

For the Bruins, a well-earned holiday break concludes today. They will gather at Hanscom Field this morning, board their westbound charter, and practice at Jobing.com Arena this afternoon to prepare for tomorrow's game against Phoenix. They better have gotten their rest. The Bruins started their Stanley Cup defense with 13 home dates in the first 17 games. They pitched that gift out the window by starting the season 10-7-0, which was only rescued by seven straight wins to close out the segment.

Stay home if you can. A flood of 1.6 million more Americans are expected to travel this Thanksgiving than last, overwhelming interstates, rest stops, and gas stations. Here in New England, a torrent of rain today is expected to make a miserable driving day even worse. Imagine a parking-lot type of day on the Massachusetts Turnpike. Then add 1 to 2 inches of driving rain. "I think waiting until Thursday is a great option for a lot of people," said Mary Maguire of AAA Southern New England.

An American citizen who traveled to Pakistan and joined a terrorist training camp more than a decade ago told a federal jury yesterday that he provided an associate of accused terrorist supporter Tarek Mehanna with contacts in Yemen, with the understanding that they, too, wanted to train for jihad. Jason Pippin, 34, a native of Georgia, said yesterday that Mehanna's close friend Ahmad Abousamra traveled to California in 2003 to discuss in person contacts he had in Yemen and ways to seek training.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- A travel agent testified in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial yesterday that she was asked to arrange a one-way trip to Brazil for the singer's accuser and his family, but that the journey was abruptly canceled. The testimony by Cynthia Montgomery was offered to support a prosecution contention that Jackson was planning to kidnap the accuser and his family and send them to Brazil for an indefinite period after a damaging February 2003 documentary in which the singer said he let children sleep in his bed. Montgomery said all the orders for the...