Whacked: Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger was found guilty yesterday in federal court of 11 counts of murder and a string of crimes including extortion, money-laundering, drug dealing … even possession of machine guns. The 83-year-old former boss of the Winter Hill gang will likely spend the rest of his life in prison, but he goes away with a partial victory. He beat the rap on 8 of 19 murders. In a parting shot a woman in the gallery taunted Bulger yelling, “Rat-a-tat-tat, Whitey!”

National: The Justice Department today sued to block the merger of US and American airlines. The merger would leave only three major airlines.

➢The lawsuit that brought down celebrity chef Paula Deen was thrown out yesterday. A federal judge ruled that a white former employee, Lisa Jackson, had no standing to claim Deen held racial bias against black co-workers. Deen lost millions of dollars in endorsements and contracts after admitting in depositions that she used to use the word “nigger”. Jackson’s sexual harassment lawsuit against Deen’s brother continues.

The ‘Show Me’ State: North Carolina yesterday became the first state to enact a law requiring voters to show a photo ID. The ACLU immediately sued to overturn the law. Republican Gov. Pat McCrory said in a statement, “Common practices like boarding an airplane and purchasing Sudafed require photo ID and we should expect nothing less for the protection of our right to vote.” The law was made possible by the Supreme Court decision striking down the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Proponents of voter ID laws say they cut vote fraud, but such laws also eliminate poor, nonwhite and elderly voters who might not have photo identification.

World: Dutch Prince Johan Friso, 44, has died 18 months after a skiing accident left him in a coma. Friso was buried by an avalanche for 15 minutes and never regained consciousness. He was the brother of the Willem-Alexander who became King in April.

Whoosh!: Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk unveiled his plan for a transportation system that would whisk people from city to city like cash in an old department store pneumatic tube system. Musk calls it the “Hyperloop”. Passengers would sit in a capsule shot through the airless tube by electromagnetic pulse. Los Angeles to San Francisco, 30 minutes.

BMWs & Porcupines: Researchers at UC Berkeley say drivers of expensive cars are more likely to act like jerks on the road. The study says the driver of a Mercedes or BMW is less likely to wait his turn at a four-way stop. The study’s author told the NY Times that when it comes to giving right of way to pedestrians in a cross walk, “BMW drivers were the worst.”

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