Here are the top stories at 12:10pm.
A Bethel man is due in court later this hour to face several charges after an armed confrontation with state police last night; Vermont and three other New England states will join together on a regional standardized test for third- to eighth-graders; a lawmaker in New Hampshire wants to take some of the state’s utilities to task for taking too long to restore power after this month’s ice storm; a yearlong celebration will begin later this week to mark the 400th anniversary of the first European exploration of the Champlain Valley.