1.   Massachusetts State Police said Vaughn failed a series of sobriety tests before he was arrested.

2.   NetOptix Corp. of Sturbridge had tried and failed a series of high-tech ventures before getting into the business of fiber-optic communications.

3.   State police said Vaughn failed a series of sobriety tests before his arrest.

4.   Vaughn subsequently failed a series of field sobriety tests, state police said, and he was arraigned on charges later the same day in Dedham District Court.

5.   A Great Lakes tour ship that had failed a series of health inspections was cleared to sail again Saturday after passing federal scrutiny.

6.   Suffering after spinal surgery, she must fail a series of government-designed housewife tests to prove that she can no longer manage her home.

7.   The Agriculture Department has tried to temporarily close Supreme Beef after the plant failed a series of federally required tests for salmonella bacteria, which can cause digestive ailments.

8.   The department tried unsuccessfully last year to shut down a Dallas beef processor after the plant failed a series of salmonella tests.

9.   The plant had failed a series of salmonella tests.

10.   The plant has failed a series of USDA-mandated tests for the salmonella bacteria.