Red Sox Notebook

Ortiz stands by Red Sox manager Valentine

David Ortiz defended Bobby Valentine, saying he should not be fired. That some of his teammates may not support Valentine is incidental, according to Ortiz.

The Roads to Summer

Walden Pond’s quiet still a lure for many

A place where history runs deep and the mind takes flight, Walden draws residents and tourists through much of the year, and the park regularly reaches its capacity during the summer.

At ‘app camp,’ visually impaired teens get tech lessons

Students at the Newton-based Carroll Center learned how to use features for the blind on Apple’s iPhone and iPad.

Political Notebook

Ryan tax rates revealed in two years of returns

Paul Ryan and his wife paid an effective tax rate of 20 percent in 2011 and 15.9 percent in 2010, according to tax returns released late Friday afternoon.

Afghan police recruit kills 2 Special Forces

The two US service members who died were part of a Special Operations team working with the local police in Farah province in the west of Afghanistan.

Phone area codes say increasingly less about where people live

Several factors have combined to create a growing mismatch between where people live and their area codes.