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Police arrest Brandon Coppedge after alleged robbery attempt ends in stabbing

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One man was injured when he and a companion were assaulted by a man armed with a knife who demanded money.

SPRINGFIELD— Police arrested a 24 year-old Springfield man after they say he tried to rob two people while armed with a knife Saturday morning.

Springfield Police Lt. Harry Gagnon said Brandon Coppedge of 20 Jardine St., assaulted two males on the street near the intersection of Worthington and Dwight streets not far from the Mardi Gras Gentlemen's Club at approximately 12:30 a.m. Coppedge allegedly showed a knife and demanded money from the pair.

In the ensuing struggle one of the victims received a non-life threatening stab wound to the abdomen, Gagnon said. He was taken to the Baystate Medical Center for treatment.

Coppedge was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted armed robbery, a single count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and threatening to commit a crime. He is being held pending arraignment in Springfield District Court on Monday.

Police are awaiting word on another reported stabbing Saturday morning. Shortly before 1:30 a.m. two men reportedly entered the Baystate Medical Center emergency room with stab wounds, telling authorities that they were injured in an incident on Carver Street in the Forest Park section.

Gagnon said he cannot confirm the incident took place. He said he has yet to receive police reports from the field about that incident.


Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.

Live Stream: 2014 Municipal Conference in Northampton featuring Sen. Elizabeth Warren

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The event, which is scheduled to go live around 8 a.m., features several speakers including a keynote speech by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who is slated to take the podium at about 12:15 p.m.

NORTHAMPTON — The 2014 Conference for Franklin and Hampshire County Municipal Officials is taking place Saturday at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Northampton and thanks to Frontier Community Access Television in South Deerfield, we will be streaming the event live right here on MassLive.com.

The event features several speakers including a keynote speech by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who is slated to take the podium at about 12:15 p.m. As staff writer Shira Schoenberg reported earlier this week, the event is an annual one thrown by state Sen. Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst.

Among the highlights are a 9 a.m. presentation by state Rep. Jay Kaufman, D-Lexington, who is co-chair of the Joint Committee on Revenue.

“It's not often that some of the most influential state legislators, policy analysts and our senior U.S. Senator are all in Northampton on the same day,” Rosenberg said in a statement. “The willingness of all these leaders to attend speaks to their personal commitment to their work, and to the seriousness of the challenges we face. I’m looking forward to a day of productive discussion.”

'Obamacare' under attack at conservative gathering in New Hampshire

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President Barack Obama's health care overhaul is coming under renewed attack as some of the nation's leading conservatives gather in New Hampshire.

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) -- President Barack Obama's health care overhaul is coming under renewed attack as some of the nation's leading conservatives gather in New Hampshire for a summit that some consider the unofficial kickoff for the state's 2016 presidential selection process.

Several potential Republican White House contenders -- among them Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee -- headline a conference Saturday in Manchester, N.H., hosted by the conservative groups Citizens United and Americans for Prosperity.

Scheduled speakers also include real estate mogul Donald Trump, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Utah Sen. Mike Lee and New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte. The gathering highlights the role of Koch Industries, the giant conglomerate headed by the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch.

The Koch-affiliated Americans for Prosperity has already spent millions of dollars on health care-related attack ads aimed at Democratic senators in New Hampshire, North Carolina, Alaska, Colorado, Iowa and elsewhere. That's made the Koch brothers a prime target for Democratic criticism.

The summit comes as prospective presidential candidates begin to step up appearances in key states ahead of the 2016 presidential contest, even though New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation presidential primary isn't planned for another two years.

"It's the unofficial kickoff of the 2016 process," said Republican operative Mike Biundo, who managed Rick Santorum's last presidential campaign.

The early speakers bashed the Democratic-backed health care overhaul, a central issue in the GOP's midterm election strategy despite reports of strong enrollment figures. Some noted this week's resignation of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who presided over the law's implementation.

Ayotte asked, "What took so long?"

"I have heard from the people of New Hampshire, and the people of New Hampshire want us to work to repeal this law and replace it with common-sense reforms," she said.

Sebelius resigned on Friday, days after the Obama administration announced that enrollment in the Affordable Care Act had grown to 7.5 million Americans, a figure that exceeded expectations and gave Democrats a surprise success after a disastrous rollout. It was welcome news for Democrats who've been forced to defend their support for the unpopular law derided by critics as "Obamacare."

As potential presidential candidates jockey for position, the stakes are high for the November midterm elections, where Republicans are fighting to claim the Senate majority. The shift could block Obama's legislative priorities in the final two years of his presidency.

In a conference call Friday, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., insisted that "Democrats are not running away from the Affordable Care Act."

Democratic National Committee spokesman Mike Czin noted that Republican opposition to the health care law was the foundation of the GOP's unsuccessful political strategy in 2012. He said that the debate has changed now that the law has been implemented and millions of people are enjoying its benefits.

"That's a debate that we're going to have, and we're eager to have," Czin said.

At the same time, Van Hollen, who leads House Democrats' campaign efforts, called for Republicans to defend their support for a GOP budget plan introduced this week that would repeal the health care law, transform Medicare, reintroduce the "doughnut hole" for prescription drug costs and enact deep cuts in education.

"Republicans in Iowa and New Hampshire are supporting an agenda that hurts middle-class families, hurts women and will benefit billionaires like the Koch brothers," Van Hollen said.

Elderly man killed in hit-and-run on Main Street in Worcester

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Worcester police are searching for the driver of a vehicle that early Saturday struck and killed an 83-year-old man walking across Main Street

Worcester police are searching for the driver of a vehicle that struck and killed an 83-year-old man walking across Main Street early Saturday.

The man was walking across the street near McDonald's when he was hit. Police got a call around 2:48 a.m. and found the man lying near the curb. The driver had already left the scene.

He was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, where he was pronounced dead at 3:23 a.m., police said.

The man's name was not released, as police said they were still trying to contact his family. He was a Worcester resident.

Police said they are looking for a dark-colored Dodge Caravan or Chrysler Town & Country van, with a model year possibly between 2002 and 2007. The vehicle may have damage to the front end and windshield.

Anyone with information can call Worcester police at 508-799-8651 or send an anonymous text to 274637 TIPWPD.

Approximate location of hit-and-run:

Iran rejects naming new UN envoy after US refusal

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Iran rejected naming a new diplomat Saturday to represent it at the United Nations, with one lawmaker urging the Islamic Republic to stand up to "bullying" from the U.S., which has rejected granting its pick a visa.

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran rejected naming a new diplomat Saturday to represent it at the United Nations, with one lawmaker urging the Islamic Republic to stand up to "bullying" from the U.S., which has rejected granting its pick a visa.

The standoff over Hamid Aboutalebi, a member of the group responsible for the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, comes as world powers negotiate with Iran over its contested nuclear program. It also threatens to stir fresh animosity between countries that recently have seen their relations thaw.

The Obama administration said Friday that the U.S. had informed Iran it would not grant a visa to Aboutalebi, suggesting that behind-the-scenes discussions to get them to withdraw him from consideration failed. On Saturday, Iranian state television anchors discussed the U.S. reject, with a crawl at the bottom of the screen reading: "The Foreign Ministry says Aboutalebi is Iran's only choice as its U.N. envoy."

Prominent lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi said the U.S. had no right to intervene in Iran's U.N. envoy pick.

"Naming Aboutalebi as Iran's U.N. envoy has nothing to do with the U.S. American opposition to Aboutalebi's entry is a misuse of the geographical location of the U.N.," the Iranian parliament's website quoted Boroujerdi as saying Saturday. "The Iranian government should stand up to this U.S. bullying."

Boroujerdi, who heads the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, urged Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to write to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to fight the U.S. decision.

Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was quoted by Iran's semiofficial Mehr news agency as saying officials would pursue the issue "through anticipated legal channels at the U.N."

Aboutalebi is alleged to have participated in a Muslim student group that held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days during the embassy takeover. He has insisted his involvement in the group Muslim Students Following the Imam's Line was limited to translation and negotiation. Iran says he is one of the country's best diplomats, and that he previously received a U.S. visa. He already served at Iranian diplomatic missions in Australia, Belgium and Italy.

As host country for the United Nations, the U.S. must allow persons invited to the New York headquarters to enter the country. However, exceptions can be made when a visa applicant is found to have engaged in spying against the U.S. or poses a threat.

Denying visas to U.N. ambassadorial nominees or to foreign heads of state who want to attend United Nations events in the U.S. is extremely rare, though there appears to be precedent. According to a paper published by the Yale Law School, the United States rejected several Iranians appointed to the U.N. in the 1980s who had played roles in the embassy hostage crisis or other acts against American citizens.

But after more than three decades of discord, U.S. and Iranian officials have started having occasional direct contact, including a phone call last fall between Obama and new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The U.S. and its international partners also have reached an interim agreement with Iran to halt progress on Tehran's disputed nuclear program. Officials are in the midst of negotiating a long-term agreement.

Syria rebels, government report poison gas attack

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Syrian government media and rebel forces said Saturday that poison gas had been used in a central village, injuring scores of people, while blaming each other for the attack.

BEIRUT -- Syrian government media and rebel forces said Saturday that poison gas had been used in a central village, injuring scores of people, while blaming each other for the attack.

The main Western-backed opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, said the poison gas attack Friday hurt dozens of people in the village of Kfar Zeita in the central province of Hama. It did not say what type of gas was used.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that people suffered from suffocation and breathing problems after the attack, apparently conducted during air raids that left heavy smoke over the area. It gave no further details.

State-run Syrian television blamed members of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front for using chlorine gas at Kfar Zeita, killing two people and injuring more than 100.

The TV report claimed the Nusra Front is preparing for another chemical attack against the Wadi Deif area in the northern province of Idlib, as well as another area in Hama. It did not explain how it knew the Nusra Front's plans.

Activists in the village could not be reached Saturday.

An activist from Hama who is currently in Turkey and is on contact with activists and residents told The Associated Press that the attack occurred around sunset Friday. The man, who goes with the name Amir al-Basha, said the air raids on the rebel-held village came as nearby areas including Morek and Khan Sheikhoun have been witnessing intense clashes between troops and opposition fighters.

An amateur video posted online by opposition activists showed a hospital room in Kfar Zeita that was packed with men and children, some of whom breathing through oxygen masks. On one bed, the video showed six children on a bed, some appearing to have difficulty breathing while others cried.

The video appeared genuine and corresponded to other AP reporting of the attack.

Chemical weapons have been used before in Syria's 3-year-old conflict. In August, a chemical attack near the capital, Damascus, killed hundreds of people. The U.S. and its allies blamed the Syrian government for that attack, which nearly sparked Western airstrikes against President Bashar Assad's forces. Damascus denied the charges and blamed rebels of staging the incident.

The Syrian National Coalition called on the United Nations to conduct a "quick investigation into the developments related to the use of poisonous gas against civilians in Syria." The coalition claimed that another chemical weapons attack Friday struck the Damascus suburb of Harasta, though state media did not report on it.

An international coalition aims to remove and destroy 1,300 metric tons of chemicals held by the Assad government by June 30 in the wake of the August attack. Syria's government missed a Dec. 31 deadline to remove the most dangerous chemicals in its stockpile and a Feb. 5 deadline to give up its entire stockpile of chemical weapons. Assad's government cited security concerns and the lack of some equipment but has repeated that it remains fully committed to the process.

In the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's largest and one-time commercial center, the Observatory and state television reported intense clashes Saturday, mostly near a main intelligence office in the city's contested neighborhood of Zahra.

Syrian state news agency SANA reported earlier Saturday that several mortar shells hit the government-held neighborhoods of Hamidiyeh and Khaldiyeh, killing at least six people and wounding 15.

Aleppo became a key front in the country's civil war after rebels launched an offensive there in July 2012.

A year after Boston Marathon bombing, a city and its people heal

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In the course of a year, limbs have been replaced, psyches soothed, the wounds sustained in a moment at the marathon's finish line have at least begun to heal. At the same time, a city shaken by an unthinkable act of terrorism has returned to its usual rhythms -- sadder, but some say stronger, as well.

BOSTON (AP) -- Every time Roseann Sdoia comes home, she must climb 18 steps -- six stairs into the building, 12 more to her apartment. It is an old building in Boston's North End, with doors that are big and heavy, not an easy place for an amputee to live.

When she left the hospital, a month after the Boston Marathon bombing, she had a choice: She could find another place to live, one more suitable for someone who wears a prosthetic that replaces most of her right leg. Or, she could stay.

"Early on when all this happened, so many people were telling me to move out of the city and move out of my apartment because of the stairs and I don't have an elevator and parking is not very convenient," she recalls. "But I have been able to get past all of that."

In that, she mirrors Boston itself.

"I have to tell you, honestly, Boston is a better city now than it was before," says Thomas Menino, Boston's former mayor. "People learned how to deal with each other, they had to deal with a tragedy."

Not that it's been easy. Three people were killed at last year's Boston Marathon, and more than 260 were injured, and the legacy of trauma and lost limbs remains -- as does the shock of having endured a terrorist attack on Marathon Monday. Nor can Bostonians forget the fear that gripped a city locked down in the midst of a manhunt.

But Boston has been able to get past all of that. Copley Square is no longer littered with impromptu tributes to the dead and injured; they're now on display in an exhibit at the Boston Public Library, where Robert White of Lynn saw meaning in every teddy bear and pair of sneakers: "Every last one of the items says 'Boston Strong' or 'I will return next year.'"


Roseann SdoiaIn this May 14, 2013 file photo, Boston Marathon bombing survivor Roseann Sdoia uses crutches as she leaves Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. She was at the finish line on April 15, 2013, rooting for friends in the race, when the second bomb went off. Aside from her leg injury, she suffered hearing loss. She was with four girlfriends; three of them lost hearing, and the fourth was unscathed. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Roseann Sdoia is 46 years old, a vice president of property management for a Boston development company. She is a cheerful woman; she smiles broadly when she arrives at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Charlestown for physical therapy.

"It's just my nature," she says. "I'm not a negative person. I'm not a Debbie Downer."

Still, she says, she cries every day.

"What is sinking in is that life has changed," she says, her face awash with tears.

Sdoia is a runner, but she did not take part in the marathon. She was at the finish line on April 15, rooting for friends in the race, when the second bomb went off. Aside from her leg injury, she suffered hearing loss.

"Other than losing the bottom of my right leg, I'm still me," she says. "I haven't changed, I am still the same person I was before."

And yet, so much has changed. She had to take more leave from the job she loved. Winter, and snow, were tough to handle. She's had to tackle daily tasks -- showering, vacuuming -- differently.

Marc FucarileIn this Thursday, April 3, 2014 photo, Boston Marathon bombing survivor Marc Fucarile, of Reading, Mass., right, is helped by physical therapy assistant Joy Ross, with rehabilitation exercises on a stationary bike at Spaulding Outpatient Center in Peabody, Mass. Fucarile lost his right leg in an explosion near the finish line of the 2013 race. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Marc Fucarile, a 35-year-old roofer from Stoneham, also lost his right leg from above the knee; he has shrapnel in his heart, and still could lose his left leg.

"Everything has changed," he says. "How I use the bathroom, how I shower, how I brush my teeth, how I get in and out of bed."

His 6-year-old son, Gavin, does not always understand. "Gavin is like, 'Hey, you want to go out and play?' and I'm like, 'There's a foot of snow. I can't do snow. We're not going out and playing right now, sorry buddy.' It breaks my heart."


In the first three months after the explosions, the One Fund collected nearly $61 million in donations. In the next five months, another $12 million in contributions came in.

This big-heartedness was mirrored by a sort of proud defiance, exemplified by "Boston Strong." The amount of merchandise bearing the slogan was astonishing.

"In the immediate aftermath of the bombings, it became a peaceful mantra that people could repeat and believe in. And if they said it enough, tweeted it enough, hash-tagged it enough, it would actually be true," says Dan Soleau, a brand development manager for Marathon Sports.

Jennifer Lawrence, a social worker at Boston Medical Center, says the emphasis on "Boston Strong" had had some unhappy consequences.

"A lot of it is portraying that people are so resilient and so strong. While that is absolutely true, we are neglecting that people still have hard days," she said.

In the aftermath of the bombings, more than 600 people took advantage of the medical center's mental health services. And while most needed no help after the first few months, she has seen an increase in demand in recent weeks, as the anniversary approached.

Still, she says a "vast majority" of those who came through the hospital's programs intend to attend this year's marathon, either as bystanders or runners.

Nicole Lynch will be there. Her brother, Sean Collier, was the MIT officer who was shot to death, allegedly by the two suspects in the bombings. She will be at the race with Team Collier Strong -- a group of 25 friends and family members, including two of her siblings, who will run to raise money for a scholarship fund to put one person a year through law enforcement training.

William EvansIn this Oct. 13, 2013 photo, Boston Police Superintendent William Evans walks down the chute at the finish of the Boston Athletic Association half marathon in Boston. Evans has run the Boston Marathon 18 times, and finished in 2013 before the bombings occurred. This time he will be there as police commissioner, supervising increased security. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

William Evans will be there, but he has little choice. He has run the marathon 18 times -- including last year -- but this time he will be there as police commissioner, supervising beefed-up security including more than 3,500 police officers (more than twice last year's force), more security cameras, more bomb-sniffing dogs, and restrictions on the kinds of bags runners and spectators can bring.

"It weighs heavy on my mind, that I want this to go off well," he says. "I don't want anyone hurt. I don't ever want a repeat of the tragedy we saw that day."

Malaysia Flight 370: With black box signal gone, Australian PM warns of long search ahead

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A day after expressing optimism about the hunt for the missing Malaysian jet, Australia's leader warned Saturday that the massive search would likely continue "for a long time."

PERTH, Australia - A day after expressing optimism about the hunt for the missing Malaysian jet, Australia's leader warned Saturday that the massive search would likely continue "for a long time."

"No one should underestimate the difficulties of the task still ahead of us," Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in Beijing, on the last day of his China trip.

Abbott appeared to couch his comments from a day earlier, when he met in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping to brief him on the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which was carrying 239 people -- most of them Chinese -- when it disappeared March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

After analyzing satellite data, officials believe the plane flew off course for an unknown reason and went down in the southern Indian Ocean off Australia's west coast.

Abbott said Friday that he was "very confident" signals heard by an Australian ship towing a U.S. Navy device that detects flight recorder pings were coming from the missing Boeing 777's black boxes.

He continued to express this belief Saturday, but with no new underwater signals detected in the past few days and electronic transmissions from the black boxes fading fast, Abbott said the job of finding the plane remained arduous. Recovering the plane's flight data and cockpit voice recorders is essential for investigators to try to piece together what happened to Flight MH370.

We have "very considerably narrowed down the search area, but trying to locate anything 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) beneath the surface of the ocean about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from land is a massive, massive task, and it is likely to continue for a long time to come," Abbott said.

"There's still a lot more work to be done and I don't want anyone to think that we are certain of success, or that success, should it come, is going to happen in the next week or even month. There's a lot of difficulty and a lot of uncertainty left in this," he said.

In Malaysia, Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein on Saturday refuted a front-page report in a local newspaper, the New Strait Times, that a signal from the mobile phone of co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid was picked up by a telecommunications tower near the Malaysian city of Penang shortly before the plane disappeared from radar. The newspaper report said the signal ended abruptly before contact was established.

Hishammuddin, who is also the acting transport minister, told the Malaysian national news agency Bernama that he should have been aware of the phone call earlier, but that wasn't the case.

"I cannot comment (on the newspaper report) because if it is true, we would have known about it much earlier," Hishammuddin said after praying at a mosque in southern Jofor state, according to Bernama.

He added that it was irresponsible for anyone to take the opportunity to make "baseless" reports.

In the southern Indian Ocean, search crews are scrambling because the batteries powering the flight recorders' locator beacons last only about a month, and that window has already passed. Finding the devices after the batteries die will be extremely difficult due to the extreme depth of the water in the search area.

Two sounds heard a week ago by the Australian ship Ocean Shield, which was towing the ping locator, were determined to be consistent with the signals emitted from the two black boxes. Two more pings were detected in the same general area Tuesday.

"Given that the signal from the black box is rapidly fading, what we are now doing is trying to get as many detections as we can so that we can narrow the search area down to as small an area as possible," Abbott said.

The underwater search zone is currently a 1,300-square-kilometer (500-square-mile) patch of the seabed, about the size of Los Angeles.

The searchers want to pinpoint the exact location of the source of the sounds -- or as close as they can get -- and then send down a robotic submersible to look for wreckage. But the sub will not be deployed until officials are confident that no other electronic signals are present.

The Bluefin 21 submersible takes six times longer to cover the same area as the ping locator, and will need about six weeks to two months to canvass the current underwater zone. The signals are also coming from 4,500 meters (15,000 feet) below the surface, which is the deepest the Bluefin can dive. The search coordination center has said it is considering options in case a deeper-diving sub is needed.

The surface area to be searched for floating debris has been narrowed to 41,393 square kilometers (15,982 square miles) of ocean extending from about 2,300 kilometers (1,400 miles) northwest of Perth. Up to 10 planes and 14 ships were searching Saturday.


Obituaries today: Alta Rhodes was registered nurse at Franklin Medical Center

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Obituaries from The Republican.

 
041214-alta-rhodes.jpgAlta Rhodes 

Alta Harmony (Robbins) Rhodes, 92, of Blandford, passed away on Thursday. She was born in Westfield. She grew up in Blandford, attended the Blandford School and graduated from Westfield High School. She graduated from the Franklin County Public Hospital School of Nursing in 1952. She spent her career as a registered nurse at Franklin Medical Center. After retirement, she worked as a volunteer at the hospital for over 3,500 hours. She lived most of her life in Greenfield. She was a member of the Franklin County Public Hospital Alumni Association and the Greenfield Senior Action Group.

To view all obituaries from The Republican:
» Click here

Extravaganja 2014 draws thousands to Amherst Town Common to raise awareness about push to legalize marijuana

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A crowd of what appeared to be several thousand people of all ages peacefully converged on the Amherst Town Common Saturday to kick off the 23rd annual Extravaganja bash.


An update to this story was posted at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

AMHERST — A crowd of what appeared to be several thousand people of all ages peacefully converged on the Amherst Town Common Saturday to kick off the 23rd annual Extravaganja bash.

Unlike the Blarney Blowout, which is unofficially centered around binge drinking and frequently leads to violent clashes between young people and police, Extravaganja is a much more mellow celebration, although the mood is equally festive in the small Massachusetts college town.

The 2014 affair represents the 23rd year that the gathering has been held in the progressive community, and over the course of the past two-plus decades, the festival has grown as much as attitudes toward marijuana have changed.

For 63-year-old Greenfield resident Franktinus Stuitje, he remembers when the festival was much smaller.

"Back when they first started this, there were just 300 or 400 people there at most. Now it's huge," Stuitje said. "I never thought in my lifetime I'd see marijuana be legalized anywhere in this country. I'm just amazed at what has happened in Colorado and Washington."

The two states Stuitje mentioned are the first in the nation to legalize marijuana not only for medicinal use, but also for recreation.

Sebastian Vivas, the president of the UMass Cannabis Reform Coalition, said the large crowd in downtown Amherst Saturday is representative of the growing movement to end the so-called prohibition of marijuana and move beyond de-criminalization to full-fledged legalization.

"I think in the next five years we will see even more changes regarding marijuana across the country," Vivas said. "Look how peaceful everybody is here. Everyone here is just having a good time and not causing any trouble. It goes to show the difference between alcohol and marijuana. Once substance can lead to people having a more positive experience in their community and the other can lead to chaos, but it is still legal. That doesn't make sense."

The UMass Cannabis Reform Coalition, established in 1991, is the oldest student-run drug law reform organization in the United States. It organizes the annual Extravaganja festival by working hand-in-hand with the local town, police and businesses.


Visit MassLive.com later in the day for a report looking at how the attitudes toward marijuana have changed and pushed legislation along the way.

Lawyer: Ex-Marine convicted of working for the CIA gets 10-year prison sentence in Iran

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An Iranian appeals court has overturned a death sentence of a former U.S. Marine convicted of working for the CIA, instead sentencing him to 10 years in prison, his lawyer said Saturday.

TEHRAN, Iran — An Iranian appeals court has overturned a death sentence of a former U.S. Marine convicted of working for the CIA, instead sentencing him to 10 years in prison, his lawyer said Saturday.

Amir Hekmati, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen born in Arizona, was arrested in August 2011, then tried, convicted and sentenced to death for spying.

Iranian prosecutors said Hekmati received special training and served at U.S. military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan before heading to Iran as a spy. Hekmati's family and the U.S. government repeatedly has denied the 31 year old is a spy, instead saying he traveled to Iran to visit his grandmother.

Iran's Supreme Court annulled the death sentence after Hekmati appealed, ordering a retrial in 2012. The country's Revolutionary Court then overturned his conviction for espionage, his lawyer Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei told The Associated Press. Instead, it charged him with "cooperating with hostile governments" and sentenced him to 10 years in prison, Tabatabaei said.

Iran's Appeals Court "recently" upheld the verdict, the lawyer said, a decision that is final.

Tabatabaei said he is seeking Hekmati's conditional freedom from Evin prison, north of the capital, Tehran. Hekmati has been behind bars since his arrest.

"According to law, if someone serves one-third of his conviction period and within that time, shows an acceptable behavior in jail, he can be entitled to conditional freedom," Tabatabaei said. "One-third of his imprisonment will end around September and October."

Conditional freedom could allow Hekmati to leave the country, depending on what a court decides. That could allow Hekmati to visit his father Ali Hekmati, a professor at Mott Community College in Flint, Michigan, who family members say has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and recently suffered a stroke.

Tabatabaei said a doctor treating Hekmati's father at a U.S. hospital has sent him a letter asking the ex-Marine's leave on bail to meet his ailing father

"We have requested that if the prosecutor agrees, Amir can go on leave with an appropriate bail so that he could go and visit his father," Tabatabaei said.

The Obama administration in November asked for Iran to free Hekmati and two other Americans believed held there, as relations recently have thawed between Washington and moderate President Hassan Rouhani. The call comes as world powers continue negotiations with Iran over its contested nuclear program.

A family representative in Michigan did not return a call for comment Saturday. U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, a Flint Democrat who represents Hekmati and his family in Congress and has worked to free him, said in a statement that releasing him would be "a tangible demonstration by Iran that it is serious about rejoining the global community."

"He is innocent and has committed no crime," Kildee said. "He is an American citizen who, with the permission of the Iranian government, traveled to Iran to simply visit his grandmother for the first time. He has been wrongfully imprisoned for 956 days."

Tabatabaei said he hadn't met face to face with Hekmati, but remained "constantly in contact with him."

"His morale is good," the lawyer said.

Extravaganja 2014: Changing views on marijuana lead push toward legalization

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With a bittersweet haze lingering above the crowd of thousands in downtown Amherst Saturday, the 23rd annual Extravaganja festival brought together political activists and casual users alike.


This updates a story posted at 5 p.m. Saturday.

AMHERST — With a bittersweet haze lingering above the crowd of thousands in downtown Amherst Saturday, the 23rd annual Extravaganja festival brought together political activists and casual users alike.

Extravaganja is officially organized by the UMass Cannabis Reform Coalition, the oldest student-run drug law reform organization in the United States. The gathering's official purpose is to highlight the ongoing battle to change the law surrounding marijuana to progress from de-criminalization, to approval of medical marijuana and eventually legalize it for recreational use.

Legalization is something that 63-year-old Franktinus Stuitje of Greenfield never thought he'd see in his lifetime. But as Colorado and Washington state have already removed criminal penalties for possessing marijuana, he is certain that more states will follow.

"So many of my friends have been punished for marijuana over the years, I just never thought this country would get to this point. But now, it is just a matter of time before it is legal everywhere. Either that or we'll go the other way and start putting people away for smoking tobacco," Stuitje said.

Marijuana use is one of those complicated American issues that crosses a number of social mores and depending on where you live or travel, its use or acceptance may not be acceptable, aside from the legal aspect. But in the progressive Town of Amherst, which has hosted the festival for more than two decades, bringing together a controversial topic and a live and let live attitude seems like a perfect fit.

Sebastian Vivas, the president of the UMass Cannabis Reform Coalition, said that the event takes nearly a full year to plan and is coordinated almost entirely with the town administration and its police department.

"They have been just great to work with. I love being in a place where they aren't afraid to hold such a controversial event right in the center of town," Vivas said. "It goes to show the difference between this and something like the Blarney Blowout. Everyone here is just having a good time and not causing any trouble."

One major difference between Extravaganja and the Blarney Blowout is the official capacity in which the annual weed-fest exists. The Blarney Blowout typically goes fine and without incident, when only considering the bars which officially hold the event.

It is the rest of the college-aged students all over the town, however, that end up extremely drunk and find themselves in violent clashes with the police, as was the case this year.

To Vivas, the fact that thousands of people getting high cause no public safety issue but thousands of drunk people cause a riot which draws negative national attention and costs taxpayers upwards of $200,000 if proof that the law needs to be changed.

"It goes to show the difference between alcohol and marijuana. Once substance can lead to people having a more positive experience in their community and the other can lead to chaos, but it is still legal," Vivas said. "That doesn't make sense."

Don Davis, a 61-year-old Vermont resident attending Extravaganja Saturday, said that the push to legalize marijuana is a good thing in his view, but mostly led my politicians looking to collect more tax revenue.

"It's a good trade off, I guess," Davis reluctantly concluded. "It's better than people going to jail over marijuana but it has taken so long to get here."

In Colorado, where full legalization has cut into the underground sales of marijuana, the state is set to collect $98 million in tax revenue this year from official sales, according to a report by Reuters. That estimate is 40 percent higher than Colorado lawmakers originally anticipated.

Brandie Lucia, a 20-year-old Westfield resident also attending Extravaganja, said that money, when spent correctly, can be used to help everyone instead of spending tax money to punish those who use marijuana.

"Just look how much money they are raising from taxes in Colorado alone. That money can be used to improve schools and roads, helping all the people that live there," Lucia said. "If we can make our cities better and not punish people for what they choose to do, who loses there?"

Lucia admits that not everyone is quite ready to throw a nationwide pot party just yet. "Even talking about marijuana still makes some people uncomfortable, but things look like they are trending in the direction of legalization."

But a recent national Pew Research Center survey of 1,821 adults concluded that while just 39 percent of those polled say marijuana should be legalized for adult use, 75 percent, whether they support or oppose it, think it is just a matter of time before marijuana is legalized entirely.

"I think you'll continue to see the change on a state-by-state basis as momentum builds in different places to change the law," said an Amherst resident walking by the festival with her infant who asked to only be identified by her first name, Chris. "The attitudes are changing and there are bigger problems society now has to focus on over marijuana. Look at them- they are just a happy, peaceful group enjoying their Saturday afternoon in the sun. This seems perfectly fine to me."


When contacted Saturday evening, the Amherst Police Department said they didn't have information as to whether any arrests were made in regards to the Extravaganja festival. The Republican/Masslive will follow up with police and publish information as it becomes available.

Bucket truck tips over in Cape Cod, Mass., killing 2 NStar utility contractors

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The two men were both in the bucket when the truck toppled over, Police Chief Dennis Woodside said.

BOURNE, Mass. -- Two Massachusetts workers are dead after their bucket truck tipped over Saturday while they were in the basket more than 100 feet in the air at a Cape Cod site.

Bucket Truck-Fatal 2View full sizeAuthorities work on the scene of a fatal accident where two workers died in Bourne, Mass., Saturday, April 12, 2014.
Bourne police confirmed the Saturday deaths at Cape Cod Aggregates Corp. near Scenic Highway. They didn't release the men's names.

The men were working for a contractor for an NStar utility project, The Cape Cod Times reported. They appeared to be working underneath high tension power lines, near utility poles, on sandy barren land.

The two men were both in the bucket when the truck toppled over, Police Chief Dennis Woodside told the newspaper. He said they were killed instantly.

The Office of Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating. OSHA didn't immediately return a call for comment.


Massachusetts State Police bust Milwaukee man allegedly found with 4 kilos of cocaine in minivan on Route 93

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Troopers say when the drug-sniffing dog arrived at the scene, Martinez made a run for it and jumped over the guardrail and took a tumble down a steep, rocky cliff.

CANTON — A Wisconsin man was arrested Saturday morning after Massachusetts state troopers allegedly found a significant amount of cocaine in his Nissan Quest minivan.

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Police say around 10 a.m., troopers pulled over a can in the northbound lanes of Route 93 in Canton for unspecified traffic infractions. After speaking with the driver, 40-year-old Hector Rivera Martinez of Milwaukee, a K-9 unit was requested.

Troopers say when the drug-sniffing dog arrived at the scene, Martinez made a run for it and jumped over the guardrail and took a tumble down a steep, rocky cliff.

He was arrested at the bottom, however, and the dog allegedly helped police find four wrapped packages of cocaine hidden in the vehicle, totaling four kilograms. Martinez was charged with trafficking cocaine and held in lieu of $200,000 bail, awaiting arraignment in court Monday morning.



California bus crash: Fed-Ex driver apparently didn't brake, NTSB says

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National Transportation Safety Board member Mark Rosekind said that the truck left no tire marks as it careened across a median and slammed into the bus.

RED BLUFF, Calif. -- Federal investigators could not corroborate on Saturday a driver's claim that a FedEx tractor-trailer was already on fire before it careened across a freeway median, sideswiped her car and slammed into a bus carrying high school students, killing 10 people in a fiery wreck.

Investigators were still looking for more witnesses to the Thursday crash, National Transportation Safety Board member Mark Rosekind said. They also plan to conduct tests to determine if the truck driver inhaled smoke before the collision and search for evidence of a fire at the crash scene before the vehicles exploded into towering flames and billowing black smoke.

VIDEO: NTSB Saturday Update
Investigators also found no signs that the truck driver attempted to brake before the crash. They found no tire marks as the truck careened across Interstate 5 and slammed into the bus taking the students to a tour of Humboldt State University in Northern California. Five students, three adult chaperones and both drivers died. Rosekind said the bus driver had relieved another driver whose shift ended during a stop in Sacramento.

Joe and Bonnie Duran, the Seattle-area couple who were in the car, said, like the bus, they were northbound on Interstate 5 on Thursday afternoon. Bonnie Duran, who was driving, told KNBC-TV in Los Angeles that flames were coming from the lower rear of the truck cab.

"I just looked to the left, and there it was coming through right at me at an angle. I can tell I wasn't going to outrun him, so I just kind of turned to the right and he hit me," she said. "It was in flames as it came through the median. ... It wasn't like the whole thing was engulfed. It was coming up wrapping around him."

Initial reports by police indicated the truck swerved to avoid a sedan that was traveling in the same direction in this town about 100 miles north of Sacramento, then went across the median. Officer Lacey Heitman, a spokeswoman for California Highway Patrol, said she could not confirm if the truck was on fire before the collision until all evidence was gathered.

Federal investigators also recovered an electronic control module from the bus, but do not know what information it contains. They were not able to recover such equipment from the FedEx truck tractor, a 2007 Volvo, but may be able to calculate speed and maneuvering using the transmission and marks in steering box.

But in addition to the cause of the crash, federal transportation authorities are examining whether fire safety measures they previously recommended for motor coaches could have allowed more of the 48 bus occupants to escape unharmed.

Bodies recovered from the bus were charred beyond recognition. Dozens of students had injuries including burns, and several remained hospitalized.

The 44 Southern California high school students on the bus in Thursday's crash, many hoping to become the first in their families to attend college, were on a free trip arranged by Humboldt State University. More than 500 students, including about 40 from the Los Angeles area, were sent home earlier than scheduled Saturday morning in light of tragedy.

The victims included a recently engaged couple from Los Angeles and a newlywed from Orange County chaperoning the trip. Among the students was an identical twin from Riverside whose sister was on another bus that arrived safely at Humboldt.

Fire safety is one of six areas the NTSB plans to investigate, partly because it has been longstanding concern of the agency.

After a 2005 bus fire killed 23 nursing home residents escaping Hurricane Rita in Texas, the NTSB called for safety standards that could make buses less vulnerable to fire, including improved protection of fuel tanks. More recently, the NTSB says buses must have sophisticated suppression systems to control fires, much as high-rise buildings have sprinkler systems.

The NTSB, which investigates accidents and their causes, has no authority to require safety changes it recommends.

But a bill passed by Congress in June 2012 directed the Department of Transportation to conduct research and tests on ways to prevent fires or mitigate the effects, among other safety issues. That included evacuating passengers, as well automatic fire suppression, smoke suppression and improved fire extinguishers. Representatives of the bus industry told Congress that manufacturers were increasingly and voluntarily adding such features.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has commissioned research on fire safety measures, and new rules could be proposed by 2015. So far, the government has not proposed any new standards related to passenger evacuation in event of a fire or other fire-related issues, according to Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, which lobbied Congress for tougher motor-coach safety standards.

"The legislation includes many mandates to the Transportation Department on many aspects of safety, some of them easy, others not so easy," said Jacqueline Gillan, president of the safety advocacy group. "Nonetheless, they all need to be done, and there have been no regulations even on the easy ones."

Silverado Stages, the San Luis Obispo, Calif.-based company that owns the charter bus involved in the crash, has a strong safety record, and it has said it is fully cooperating with the investigation. It is unclear what sort of fire-safety equipment the bus in Thursday's crash had, and the company couldn't be reached for comment Saturday.

As part of its investigation, the NTSB said it is trying to determine whether the FedEx driver might have fallen asleep or suffered a health problem and whether there were mechanical issues with the truck. The agency also is evaluating whether there should have been a barrier on the median to help prevent head-on collisions. Barriers are required when medians are less than 50 feet wide; this one was 60.



Police investigating after body found in Connecticut River near Sunderland boat ramp

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Authorities are investigating after people enjoying a sunny Saturday afternoon boating on the Connecticut River found a body.

SUNDERLAND — Authorities are investigating after people enjoying a sunny Saturday afternoon boating on the Connecticut River found a body.

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According to the Northwest District Attorney's office, the discovery was made around 3:45 p.m. near the Sunderland boat ramp.

The Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is working to identify the deceased, only identified as a white male, and will release information following notification of the next of kin.

There was no indication early on whether foul play was suspected.


This is a developing story and further information will be published as it becomes available.

Springfield police respond to Main Street shooting, second shooting in the city in a day

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Man shot in Springfield on Main Street.


SPRINGFIELD — Police are investigating a shooting in the area of 2756 Main St. Sunday.

Police responded to the scene around 2:25 p.m. for a man shot.

Witnesses declining to give their names said a young male was shot in the left arm. The shooter ran away before police arrived.

One man, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years, but declined to give his name, said this happens ever year as soon as the weather begins to improve.

"It gets warm out and kids start shooting each other," he said.

An ambulance took the man to Baystate Medical Center for treatment.

Police officials would not provide any additional information.

This is the second shooting on Sunday. A Springfield man was shot once in the torso in a drive-by shooting at 12:26 a.m. on Worthington Street. He was taken to Mercy Hospital by private car, police said.

More information will be provided on www.MassLive.com as it becomes available.

Ukraine's ousted president puts blame on CIA

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Ukraine's ousted president has accused the CIA of being behind the new Ukrainian government's decision to deploy armed forces to quash an increasingly brazen pro-Russian insurgency.

MOSCOW -- Ukraine's ousted president has accused the CIA of being behind the new Ukrainian government's decision to deploy armed forces to quash an increasingly brazen pro-Russian insurgency.

Speaking late Sunday on Russian state television, Viktor Yanukovych claimed that CIA director John Brennan had met with Ukraine's new leadership and "in fact sanctioned the use of weapons and provoked bloodshed.

There was no independent confirmation that Brennan was in Ukraine or in any way involved in the decision to send troops to eastern Ukraine, where armed pro-Russia men have seized a number of government buildings.

Yanukovych was ousted in February following months of protests in Kiev, the capital, that were ignited by his decision to back away from closer relations with the European Union and turn toward Russia. He fled to Russia, saying he feared for his life.

Interstate 91 closing in Brattleboro, VT causing serious traffic jams

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Traffic jams are being reported by motorists on Interstate-91.

Update: As of 10 p.m. the highway remains closed. Vermont Department of Transportation is reporting that construction crews continue to work on the bridge but are giving no estimate of when the highway will be open.

BRATTLEBORO, VT – All northbound and southbound lanes for Interstate 91 will continue to be closed until 8:30 p.m., Sunday due to bridge construction.

Motorists heading north are being forced to leave the highway on Exit 1, are being detoured through the town and can enter onto the highway at Exit 3. Southbound traffic is force to leave the highway on Exit 3 and can re-enter on Exit 1, according to Vermont State Police.

The problem happened when the bridge under construction began leaning towards the active bridge, forcing closure until it can be stabilized, according to the Windham County Sherrif's Department.

The bridge has been closed since Saturday morning. Police said the prediction is the highway should open at 8:30 p.m. but it could be later.

Two injured in Springfield shootings within 14 hours Sunday

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Both men's wounds were not life-threatening

SPRINGFIELD – A 26-year-old man was shot on Main Street in the north end of the city, becoming the second man to be injured by gunfire Sunday.

Both men received injuries which are not life-threatening. Each was treated at Baystate Medical Center.

The 26-year-old was shot at about 12:15 p.m. in front of 2367 Main St. The audio Shotspotter system detected multiple gun shots at the scene, Sgt. John Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William Fitchet said.

“The investigators at the scene believe that the victim was also shooting at his assailants. The shooting is possibly drug and gang related,” Delaney said.

No one else was injured on the street, which was full of people who were outside enjoying one of the first warm days of the year.

One man, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years, said shootings happen in the area every year when the weather gets nice. He declined to give his name.

About 14 hours earlier a 33-year-old man was hit in the lower abdomen in a drive-by shooting at about 12:26 a.m. on Worthington St., Police Lt. Henry Gagnon said.

The shooter sprayed bullets along Federal Street from the intersection of Worthington Street and down the block. At least two unoccupied cars were also hit in the shooting.

Both shootings are under investigation.

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