It was a challenge a trio of computer students and professionals could not resist: proving "tamperproof" digital cellular phones are actually vulnerable. After about six hours of work, two graduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a computer cryptographist were able to "clone" the phone, allowing them to make unauthorized calls from another phone.

"Given the state of the security of other cellular phone systems, I wasn't terribly, terribly surprised," said Ian Goldberg, one of the students. The three looked at the project as a challenge.

Still, the amount of time and effort it took to clone the codes makes the digital phone security much more difficult to circumvent than analog cellular phones, which in comparison are easily breached. The three cracked the codes guarding a Global System for Mobile Communications phone. The GSM digital standard is the most widely used in the world, with more than 79 million phones in use. The standard is used primarily in Europe.

Goldberg and student David Wagner were part of a group that announced last year they had cracked the weaker encryption codes used by the U.S. cellular phone system. Overcoming the security also revealed a hint that the code may have been intentionally weakened during its design to allow government agencies the ability to eavesdrop on telephone conversations, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

Marc Briceno of Smartcard Developers Association, who worked with Goldberg and Wagner, said the weakened code would let powerful computers available to intelligence agencies decode a voice conversation relatively quickly. "I can't think of any other reason for what they did," Briceno said.

For years, the computer industry has been rife with rumors about government intrusion or intimidation. Little evidence has ever emerged to support such speculation, the Times reported, but the origins of the GSM system are hazy.

Harvard Square has always had its share of the theater attendance in Boston. The American Repertory Theater and the Hasty Pudding Theater have seen mild success over the past few years. But when high flyer Yuri Rodchenko announced his plans to set up a new theater in Harvard Square, he rocked the foundation of theater in Boston. While the new Theater, called Three of Seven, will not be open for another month, its effects have already begun to be felt.

"What we have here in Harvard will be enough good sized theaters to create a new theater district. "ART Representative Paul Segrino said. "With Mr. Rodchenko's name behind this theater I'm sure it will get the support it needs. And when opening night hits, I'm sure that it will be a great success. I've been working closely with them. I think their actors are in our studio rehearsing right now."

When asked if he saw Three of Seven as a new potentially dangerous competitor, Segrino laughed. "This can only bring more theater attendance to Harvard. I offer them my full support. On opening night I'll be there, guaranteed." Yuri Rodchenko is the owner of the new and vastly successful cafe, The Seven Muses, from which Three of Seven is only blocks away. So, come June, you can enjoy a full night of theater, music and delightful coffee at Harvard Square, all courtesy of Yuri Rodchenko.

Only one question remains to be asked. What does he plan for the other four?

Big Dig officials installed very sophisticated and expensive monitoring equipment to do that job a long time ago, but it hasn't worked very well. While no one has gotten stuck and no ceiling panels have been torn off, there have been a couple instances where a big truck has had to be backed slowly out of the tunnel. One incident occurred last week, despite both low-tech (chains hanging down) and high-tech (siren and lights set off by a broken light beam) warning devices. Bliss insists the system is working. "It was not fully operational," he said. "It's a complicated system. It's undergoing a lot of testing."

But it is working well enough now that the Staties have been relieved of that 24-hour duty.

Apparently their constant presence didn't send the right fiscal message, either. "We would hear from people saying, `Why are you wasting so much money keeping State Police doing nothing outside the tunnel?'" said Bliss. Anyway, they're gone, and you heard it here first. But the rules - and fines for unauthorized tunnel use - still apply.

Three Big Dig things coming up that you will hear more about: Atlantic Avenue and Surface Artery downtown are being shifted to the west but not narrowed, to be completed in May and to last indefinitely; Atlantic Avenue between Kneeland and Congress streets closes altogether for two years, with alternate routes on Surface Artery and through the Leather District, as well as turnarounds for bus and train passengers near those stations; and, for commercial traffic, a new South Boston Bypass road extension opens in the form of a viaduct over the expressway, significantly improving access to I-93 southbound. The Broadway Bridge, reduced by Big Dig work to one lane eastbound at the South Boston end, was supposed to be back in service but is still narrowed.

Today through May 1, the Haymarket off-ramp southbound from the Central Artery will be closed weeknights, 10 p.m.-5 a.m.

What started as a dream of beautifying Boston, has become a financial and political nightmare. The Big Dig project is designed to move Boston's major high ways underneath the city, and replacing what is now six lanes of heavily trafficked tarmac with green parks and walk ways, while alleviating traffic problems.

Sound too good to be true? It is. The project was scheduled to be completed by 2002, but due to funding and construction problems they are, of course, behind schedule.

In a recent poll 47% of Boston residents thought that the "big dig" would not be completed until 2010. 29% thought that it would be completed only in 2050 and 14% thought the project would be canceled prior to completion. Only 7% though that it would be completed within a year of the original schedule. And that was before rumors started flying that one of the dig's major supporters, Mr. Westenright, was planning on pulling his support. If that happens the outlook for the project as a whole looks dim.

"Loss of a major supporter would seriously and adversely effect the ability of the city to complete the project on schedule, and possibly to complete the project at all," Frank White, head of finance for the project said," however, these are only rumors at this point. We have heard nothing from Mr. Westenright to indicate that this rumor might be true."

The line has been drawn.

It was set in stone last night when demonstrators, mostly youths, were attacked by police for breaking the new curfew law. Police attempted to peacefully disperse the crowd that filled Copley Square, their loudspeakers battling with the PA system the youths had set up on the steps of Boston Public Library.

When that failed they started to arrest people. The already angry youths refused to go peacefully, and small skirmished between demonstrators and the police broke out. Arriving police served only to escalate the violence. Eventually Police turned to tear gas. While this was effective in dispersing the crowd, it only caused the violence to spread into the surrounding street. All night long there were skirmishes between police and would-be demonstrators.

With dawn came quiet. Quieting of the fighting at least. Cries of the wounded still echoed on the streets of Boston as people began their morning commute. The numbers are not yet in but hospitals in Boston are flooded with emergencies. And not only the demonstrators count amongst the wounded from last nights fighting. Police report at least 5 officers with serious wounds.

And the morning showed us another sight, heavy damage to Copley Square and the historic Trinity Church.

As Boston awaits comments from Mayor Menino, all we can say for sure is that last night will not be easily forgotten in Boston.

Two female Harvard students were brutally attacked last night on the famous ivy-covered campus, in the secluded "L" lot near the Chemistry department.

One of the victims, a second-year Anthropology/English double major was pronounced dead on the scene with severe blunt trauma to the head and neck. The other student, a third-year Chemistry major, is said to be in critical condition, with similar wounds. It is not known whether the surviving student was able to offer a description of the assailant.

A friend of the students, speaking on condition of anonymity, explained that the second-year student had been studying at the Harvard Library, and had called "Harvard Safe Walks" for an escort back to her dorm, in accordance with a new program meant to promote campus safety by allowing students to avoid walking on the campus alone at night. "I can't believe she's really gone," the friend said. "I just borrowed her Chumbawumba CD yesterday."

Deputy Police Chief Todd Lubivitch, denied that the unknown assilant was the still at large Cambridge-Boston Mutilating Murderer, saying that the method of homicide did not lead him to make any positive link yet. "This seems to be a random attack," he stated during the press conference after the victims were brought the hospital. "The Cambridge-Boston crimes are almost exclusively confined to the homeless and to young children. We are working on establishing a link, but there is no way to know at this point."

Harvard officials reacted to the attack with horror, cancelling classes today and offering grief workshops throughout the day. Campus security has been "beefed up" according to Director of Campus Security Doug Teho. Tomorrow a memorial service will be held for the deceased victim.

A serious multi-vehicle accident just before noon Tuesday in the northbound lane of the Southeast Expressway injured at least four and left traffic in both directions backed up for several miles.

Northbound traffic at times was brought to a standstill from East Milton to Savin Hill in Dorchester. Latest traffic reports indicated traffic was starting to move slowly through the scene. State police said it would be at least 3 p.m. before normal traffic flow could resume.

Southbound traffic was jammed from the South Station Tunnel to Savin Hill, due to curiosity from the accident. State Police Sargeant Larry Gillis said the crash involved at least two trucks and two cars. At least four people were reported hurt, but none of the injuries were considered life-threatening.

An unknown amount of fuel spilled on the highway, and environmental officials were called to inspect the scene. Gillis advised motorists to avoid the area. Traffic detouring along Morrissey Blvd. was reported backed up at the UMass traffic lights.