Quantcast
Channel: News
Viewing all 62489 articles
Browse latest View live

Springfield police investigating reported shooting on White Street; seeking at least one suspect

0
0

City police were scouring a portion of the city's Forest Park neighborhood Saturday evening for a man suspected of shooting another on White Street.


UPDATE 12:25 a.m. July 20

Dave Canton|Republican

Police continue to document the nearly 100 yard long crime scene into the early morning hours of Sunday. The police Forensic Investigation Unit arrived on White Street at approximately 10:30 p.m. to begin documenting the scene and collect evidence.

According to officers at the scene, the shooting began in front of Fernando's Mini-Mart at the corner of White and Orange streets. The victim's flip-flops and the first drops of blood can be seen at that point. The victim continued running down White Street, his assailant following, until the victim fell to the sidewalk near 140-144 White Street.

Piles of the victim's clothes, bandages and vinyl gloves used by paramedics to administer to his wounds can be seen where the victim fell.

Officers said no shell casings were found at the scene, despite a ShotSpotter record of five shots fired. Police say they believe the suspect used a revolver, which held the spent casings inside.

Orange cones usually used to mark where shell casings where found, were used instead to mark the blood trail left by and victim as he ran.


SPRINGFIELD — City police were scouring a portion of the city's Forest Park neighborhood Saturday evening for a man suspected of shooting another on White Street.

Shots rang out around 9:15 p.m. Saturday, and although preliminary reports indicated there was one victim, a commanding officer with the department said he was still awaiting information from detectives at the scene.

Numerous 911 calls and a ShotSpotter activation in the area of 140 White St. reported five gun shots. Police said there were witnesses to the incident and officers were seeking a Hispanic male or light-skinned black male with a full beard wearing a white t-shirt, light-colored shorts and heading toward Grand Street. The suspect may also be in possession of a revolver.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Springfield Police Detective Bureau at (413) 787-6355. Those who wish to remain anonymous may text a tip via a cell phone by addressing a text message to “CRIMES,“ or “274637,“ and then beginning the body of the message with the word “SOLVE."


This is a developing story which will be updated as additional information becomes available.


Photos: Boxing Summer Classic at the Holyoke Boys and Girls Club

0
0

HOLYOKE - The Boxing Summer Classic was held at the Holyoke Boys and Girls Club on Saturday, July 19, 2014. The match was the third boxing event held at the club in 2014. The event featured 13 bouts in open and novice divisions by youths from Massachusetts and Connecticut clubs.

HOLYOKE - The Boxing Summer Classic was held at the Holyoke Boys and Girls Club on Saturday, July 19, 2014. The match was the third boxing event held at the club in 2014.

The event featured 13 bouts in open and novice divisions by youths from Massachusetts and Connecticut clubs.

NYPD officer who put suspect in chokehold stripped of gun, badge after fatal arrest

0
0

Officer Daniel Pantaleo, an eight-year NYPD veteran, and another officer were both taken off the street after the death Thursday of 43-year-old Eric Garner on Staten Island, police said.

NEW YORK — A New York City police officer involved in the arrest of a man who died in custody after being placed in an apparent chokehold has been stripped of his gun and badge and placed on desk duty, police said Saturday.

Officer Daniel Pantaleo, an eight-year NYPD veteran, and an officer who has been with the force for four years were both taken off the street after the death Thursday of 43-year-old Eric Garner on Staten Island, police said.

The department would not identify the second officer but said he would retain his gun and badge while on desk duty. The reassignment is effective immediately and will remain in effect while Garner's death is being investigated, police said.

The president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, the city's largest police union, called Pantaleo's reassignment a "completely unwarranted, knee-jerk reaction."

The decision, Patrick Lynch said in a statement, "effectively pre-judges" the case and denies Pantaleo the "very benefit of a doubt that has long been part of the social contract that allows police officers to face the risks of this difficult and complex job."

Pantaleo did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.

Partial video of the encounter obtained by the New York Daily News shows the 6-foot-3, 350-pound Garner becoming irate and refusing to be handcuffed as officers tried to arrest him on suspicion of selling untaxed, loose cigarettes on a sidewalk.

The video then shows one of the officers placing Garner in what Police Commissioner William Bratton said Friday appeared to be a chokehold. The tactic, which can be fatal, is prohibited by departmental policy.

The department disclosed Pantaleo's reassignment hours after Garner's wife, Esaw, burst into tears at a Harlem rally where Rev. Al Sharpton said his death could strain the black community's relationship with the police department.

"This is going to be a real test to see where policies are in the city now and whether the change that we feel occurred has occurred," Sharpton said, referring to promises made by Mayor Bill de Blasio and Bratton to improve the relationship between officers and the city's minority communities. "We are the only ones in the social setup that has to deal with fear of cops and robbers."

Another rally was held Saturday afternoon on Staten Island, near where Garner died. A funeral is scheduled for Wednesday at the Bethel Baptist Church in Brooklyn.

According to federal court records, three men have sued Pantaleo within the last two years over what they argued were unlawful, racially motivated arrests on Staten Island.

In the first lawsuit, settled by the city in January, two black men in their 40s accused Pantaleo and other officers of arresting them without cause and subjecting them to a "humiliating and unlawful strip search" on a Staten Island street that involved ordering them to "pull their pants and underwear down, squat and cough."

The men said they were held overnight on charges that were ultimately dismissed seven months later.

In a second lawsuit, a man accused Pantaleo and other officers of misrepresenting facts in a police report and other documents to substantiate charges that were eventually dismissed.

Garner, who has been arrested for selling illegal cigarettes numerous times in recent years, told the officers who confronted him Thursday that he had not done anything wrong, according to the video of the arrest.

"Every time you see me, you want to mess with me. I'm tired of it. It stops today," Garner shouts. "I'm minding my business. Please just leave me alone."

As four officers bring him down, Garner is heard gasping, "I can't breathe! I can't breathe!" The video shows one officer using his hands to push Garner's face into the sidewalk.

Prosecutors and internal affairs detectives are investigating the death of the father of six and grandfather of two; authorities believe he suffered a heart attack.

De Blasio has called the circumstances of his death "very troubling."

More tests are needed to determine the exact cause and manner of Garner's death, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office said.

Garner's death evoked memories of a similar incident 20 years ago.

Police officer Francis Livoti was dismissed from the NYPD and convicted by a federal jury of violating the civil rights of a Bronx man who died after he apparently used a chokehold on him in 1994.

Livoti has denied he used a chokehold, insisting Anthony Baez died from an asthma attack. The case remains one of the most high-profile allegations of police brutality in city history.

Holyoke police investigating stabbing on Maple Crest Circle

0
0

Police in the Paper City are investigating a stabbing that happened Saturday night on Maple Crest Circle.

HOLYOKE — Police in the Paper City are investigating a stabbing that happened Saturday night on Maple Crest Circle.

Initial details were scarce, but a ranking officer with the department reported that police were still on the scene around 10:30 p.m.

There was at least one victim, and the extent of that person's injuries wasn't immediately known.

It also wasn't clear if a suspect was in custody or still being sought by police.


This is a developing story which will be updated as more information becomes available.

Mashpee Wampanoag chief has mixed feelings on Taunton casino bid

0
0

The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe is among the suitors for the only resort casino allowed in southeastern Massachusetts under the state's 2011 casino law.

MASHPEE, Mass. (AP) — In the centuries since its ancestors greeted the Pilgrims in 1620, the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe has struggled to overcome financial hardship, recover lost land and even reclaim its nearly forgotten language.

The tribe's chief, 92-year-old Vernon "Silent Drum" Lopez, said he is awed by how far the tribe has come since the days of his youth when tribal members lived off the land, but he has mixed feelings about a potential next step: a $500 million casino resort that the tribe is proposing to build in Taunton.

"I know from visiting other casinos, listening to other people ... it's a pro and con thing," Lopez said.

"If they handle it right, I think it might be good for the tribe," Lopez said. "Of course, it's going to take a long time before they can show a profit on it."

The tribe is among the suitors for the only resort casino allowed in southeastern Massachusetts under the state's 2011 casino law. That law gave the Mashpee preference in the region, but their bid is far from a sure thing. While the tribe negotiated a compact with Gov. Deval Patrick, there's no guarantee the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs will approve a land-in-trust application for the Taunton site and legal challenges could potentially follow any decision.

The casino push has been led by Cedric Cromwell, the chairman of the tribe's governing council and a former manager with Fidelity Investments.

"It's about a hand up, not a handout. It's about building a GDP (gross domestic product) for the tribe," Cromwell said, adding it will also help the state by creating jobs and returning a share of gambling revenues.

Descended from the once mighty Wampanoag Nation, or "People of the First Light," the tribe traces its history back 12,000 years in modern-day Massachusetts and its ancestors hold a storied place in U.S. history. It was they who negotiated peace with the Pilgrims after the Mayflower landed in Plymouth — a peace, however, that would unravel amid subsequent waves of European settlers.

After a bitter and ultimately unsuccessful land claims suit against the Cape Cod town of Mashpee in the 1970s, the tribe focused on gaining federal recognition, achieving that goal in 2007. The Mashpee, with approximately 2,600 enrolled citizens, does not have its own permanent reservation.

In June, the tribe dedicated a new $14.7 million headquarters with office and meeting space, tribal court, full gymnasium and archive room to safely preserve precious cultural artifacts and documents. Plans are also in the works for a permanent tribal health clinic, charter school and 52-unit housing project.

Operating on nearby Popponesset Bay is First Light Oysters, a 4.6-acre tribe-operated shellfish farm that has grown hundreds of thousands of oysters for the commercial half-shell market while improving water quality in the bay, officials said.

A two-decade effort led by tribal vice chairwoman Jessie "Little Doe" Baird has also helped the tribe reclaim its native Wopanaak language, which had been dormant for more than a century,

Lopez, a veteran of the U.S. military police corps who landed at Normandy on D-Day and worked for decades in a Brockton shoe factory, was chosen in 1999 by tribal members as chief, a traditional rather than governmental position, and he said he generally tries to offer advice while staying out of tribal politics.

He said he supports Cromwell and the council in its bid for Project First Light, as the proposed casino is known, and it could help future generations of the tribe. But he does worry it could leave the tribe in debt or be a corrupting influence.

Lopez is encouraged that the tribe is looking toward its future while keeping an eye squarely on the past.

"Don't lose your traditions because that's the way the creator gave it to us to start out with," he said.

Apollo 11 moon landing 45th anniversary: Where to watch Neil Armstrong 'One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind' replay

0
0

45 years ago on July 20, 1969, United States Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin completed a voyage humanity had only imagined for thousands of years and safely landed on the moon, in the Sea of Tranquility, in their lunar module "Eagle."

Forty-five years ago today, on July 20, 1969, NASA Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin completed a voyage that humanity for thousands of years had only imagined possible and safely landed on the moon, in the Sea of Tranquility, in their lunar module "Eagle."

Armstrong was the first human to set foot on the moon, at 10:56 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, and with his first step, spoke the words that still resonate: "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind." (Whether Armstrong actually included the word "a" in front of "man" in the first part of the phrase has been debated since the first moon walk. A transcript of Armstrong's descent from the LM, with notations and links to audio and video, including discussion of the said or omitted "a," can be read here in the Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal from NASA »)

Today, NASA and science websites everywhere are commemorating the 45th anniversary of the first moon walk with special coverage.

NASA TV, beginning at 10:39 p.m. EDT, will replay restored footage of the first steps taken on the moon by both Armstrong and Aldrin (who walked on the moon while the third member of the Apollo 11 team, Michael Collins, guided the command module "Columbia" in orbit above the moon).

NASA TV can be accessed here »

NASA has a page devoted to the 45th anniversary of the first moonwalk. It includes photos and video from the Apollo 11 mission, as well as a link to an overview of what NASA is calling its "Next Giant Leap," the space agency's plans to send humans to Mars.

Slooh, which according to its website has connected land based telescopes to the internet for access by the broader public, will provide a high-definition lunar broadcast on Sunday starting at 8:30 p.m. EDT with a live from a special feed located in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Slooh's broadcast can be viewed here:

If you can't wait to hear Neil Armstrong's immortal words when NASA replays them on its NASA TV webcast late Sunday, here's an audio clip of his first step onto the moon's surface »

The video below provides a montage of the early moments of Armstrong and Aldrin's moon landing, a mission President John F. Kennedy set the course toward when he declared on May 25, 1961: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth."

For links to more coverage of the Apollo 11 mission, Space.com has an excellent summary here »

Buzz Aldrin, now 84, has asked people via YouTube to share their memories via social media using the hashtag #Apollo45. Armstrong died in 2012. On Monday, NASA's Operations and Checkout Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida will be renamed in his honor. NASA TV will have live coverage. Michael Collins is 83.

Do you remember man's first landing on the moon? Feel free to share your memories of that historic moment in the comments section below.


Springfield police investigating Cambridge Street shooting in Bay neighborhood

0
0

Police continue to investigate a shooting that caused damage to a home at 50 Cambridge St. in the city's Bay section.

SPRINGFIELD — Police continue to investigate an early Sunday shooting on Cambridge Street in the Bay neighborhood, where a home was struck by gunfire but apparently nobody was injured.

Officers who responded to a series of gunfire reports around 3:30 a.m. found live ammunition and spent shell casings in the area of 50 Cambridge St.

"We have, in the rear of 50, a couple of shell casings, multiple live rounds on the ground, and it looks like the back window was shot out," a Springfield police officer reported.

Detectives were called back to the crime scene several hours later for additional shooting evidence that was found around 11:50 a.m., including a bullet hole in the front of the home and casings found inside the residence.

Police are asking anyone with information to call detectives at (413) 787-6355.


MAP showing approximate shooting location:


Springfield Museums celebrate 5th annual 'Indian Motocycle Day'

0
0

The first Indian Motorcycles were sold in 1901.

SPRINGFIELD — George Yarocki purchased his first motorcycle as a teenager. He paid $90 for an Indian 101 Scout.

"Back then that was quite expensive," said Yarocki, the guest of honor at this year's Indian Motocycle Day at the Quadrangle Museums.

Yarocki remembers mowing lawns and other odd jobs to make enough to purchase the bike. Since then the 87-year old Indian Motocycle expert has ridden, purchased and restored dozens of motorcycles.

"I have worked on all types and models, but I always come back to the Indian," he said.

Indian Motocycles were manufactured in Springfield from the early 1900s until the 1950s when a combination of poor management and financial miscalculations led to its demise. In its time, the bitter rivalry between Indian and Harley-Davidson was legendary, both on and off the track, many times leading to fisticuffs among their various proponents.

Yarocki remembers riding a Harley for a time before returning to the Indian in the 1940s.

Guy McLain, director of the Lyman & Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History, said this year's event has been the biggest so far.

"Way over 60 authentic Springfield made Indians on exhibit here today," he said. "You are seeing seeing World War II military bikes and some Indians that back to the first decade of when these motorcycles were built," he said.

As for choosing Yarocki as the guest of honor, McLain said it was a natural choice.

"One of George's motorcycles is in the display in the museum, a beautiful 1929 Scout, It's one of the finest in the collection," he said. "He is one of the great experts and restorers of Indians."

Tim Raindle, an Englishman, showed off his 1928 Indian Scout, which he named Lefty because it is made with left over parts.

"You can get a lot of the parts by purchasing new replicas, or you can look around for spare parts that you then restore yourself," he said.

A long-time motorcycle rider and enthusiast Raindle said he has always been on the look out for a bike that us not only usable, reliable bike and the 101 Scout is that bike.

The Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History has a permanent display of Indian Motocycles. For more information visit www.springfieldmusems.org


United Nations: Iran turns over sensitive nuclear material

0
0

Iran has turned all of its enriched uranium closest to the level needed to make nuclear arms into more harmless forms, the United Nations' nuclear agency said Sunday.

VIENNA -- Iran has turned all of its enriched uranium closest to the level needed to make nuclear arms into more harmless forms, the United Nations' nuclear agency said Sunday.

The move was expected. Tehran had committed to convert or dilute its 20-percent enriched stockpile under an agreement with six powers last November that froze its atomic programs pending negotiations on a comprehensive deal. Those talks were extended Saturday to Nov. 24.

Still, the development was noteworthy in reflecting Iran's desire not to derail the diplomatic process with the six countries -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.

Iran had more than 200 kilograms (over 250 pounds) of 20 percent enriched uranium when the preliminary agreement was reached. That's nearly enough for one warhead.

A report from the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency obtained by The Associated Press said that all has now been converted or diluted. The report said Iran was observing all of its other commitments as well.

At 20 percent, enriched uranium can be converted quickly to arm a nuclear weapon. Iran denies wanting such arms.

Tehran is keen to seal a deal that would end nuclear-related sanctions on its economy, but is resisting a U.S.-led drive to put stiff, long-term constraints on atomic activities that have both peaceful and weapons-related applications.

The main dispute is over uranium enrichment, which can make both reactor fuel and the fissile core of nuclear warheads.

Up to last week Tehran had demanded that it be allowed to expand its enrichment program over the next eight years to a level that would need about 190,000 current-model enriching centrifuges.

It now has about 20,000 centrifuges, with half of them operating. Iranian officials have recently signaled they are ready to freeze that number for now. But U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said last week it was "crystal clear" that even 10,000 are too many.

Diplomats say Washington wants no more than 2,000 of the machines.

State Police apprehend Worcester kidnapping suspect on Mass Pike in Ludlow

0
0

A Massachusetts State Police trooper patrolling along the Massachusetts Turnpike Sunday afternoon identified and apprehended a man wanted for allegedly kidnapping a woman and an 11-month-old girl.

A Massachusetts State Police trooper patrolling the Massachusetts Turnpike Sunday afternoon apprehended a man wanted for allegedly kidnapping a woman and an 11-month-old girl.

According to state police, the Worcester Police Department reported that a woman and a child had been forcibly taken at around 2 p.m. Sunday and driven out of the city in a white Lincoln, possibly with livery plates. The man who took the two females was thought to be driving to Springfield, according to state police.

State and local police along Route 20 near Worcester and the Mass Pike were given the description of the vehicle and asked to look out for the man.

At around 2:30 p.m., Trooper Joseph Hilton, while traveling east on the Mass Pike, spotted the suspect's vehicle westbound the Mass Pike in the area near Exit 8 in Palmer, according to state police. Trooper Hilton along with other members of the State Police then conducted a felony motor vehicle stop along the Pike at Mile 55 in the town of Ludlow, according to state police.

Troopers found an adult female and 11-month-old girl in the car. The two were initially thought to be unharmed, but police called for an ambulance for precautionary reasons to evaluate both victims, according to state police.

With information provided by the Worcester police and a subsequent investigation after the vehicle was stopped, the man, whose name has not been released, was arrested, according to police. Troopers also found an handgun in the vehicle, which was seized because the man did not have a license to carry the firearm, according to police.

The man and the vehicle were taken to the Charlton state police barracks. The investigation is ongoing.

Springfield man killed while going to corner store

0
0

Jermaine A. Cowell, 27, worked as a massage therapist and was the father of a 5-year-old boy.


This updates a story posted at 10:45 a.m., Sunday, July 20.

SPRINGFIELD — Jimmy Cowell said his son left their Forest Park apartment for a few minutes to walk to the corner store. Less than an hour later he was dead.

Jermaine A. Cowell, 27, of White Street, was shot at about 9:15 p.m. Saturday, in front of the Golden Eagle apartment complex where he lived with his father. Police spent the night and most of Sunday investigating the killing.

“He is a good kid,” Jimmy Cowell said outside the complex where about 20 friends gathered around the sidewalk to light candles where the young man was killed. One young woman wept on the shoulder of a man.

Jermaine Cowell, the father of a 5-year-old boy, had studied massage therapy and worked at several different massage centers and spas, his father said.

Jermaine CowellJermaine Cowell 

Jimmy Cowell said he emigrated from Jamaica a number of years ago and raised his son in Western Massachusetts. On Saturday night, he came home from his job as a counselor and talked to his son for a few minutes. Then his son said he was going to the store and would be back soon.

Instead, Cowell estimates that about 9 p.m. a neighbor knocked on his door and told him Jermaine was outside on the sidewalk and something had happened to him.

“I went outside and the police were out there and doing CPR,” Cowell said.

He was taken by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 9:53 p.m., Sgt. John Delaney, a spokesman for the Springfield Police Department said.

The suspect was described as a Hispanic or light-skinned black man armed with a silver handgun. Witnesses told police the gunman had a full beard and "nappy hair" in the back, and he was wearing a white T-shirt and light-colored shorts.

Delaney said the shooter was last seen fleeing toward Orange Street, but initial reports from the scene indicated the suspect ran in the opposite direction toward Grand Street.

"Police are still looking for a motive; this was not a random shooting," Delaney said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Springfield Police Detective Bureau at (413) 787-6355. Those who wish to remain anonymous may text a tip via cell phone by addressing a text message to “CRIMES,” or “274637,” and then beginning the body of the message with the word “SOLVE.”

A clerk at Fernandez Mini Market said he was working at the time of the shooting and heard several loud pops outside the store at the corner of Orange and White streets. The employee said he thought the noise was from firecrackers.

According to the clerk, detectives asked to view the store's surveillance video, believing the victim and suspect may have been inside the business moments before the shooting. The employee said he obliged the investigators, who were expected to return to the store Sunday.

This is Springfield’s seventh homicide of the year. The killing happened just around the corner from the shooting death of 23-year-old Darrell Jenkins, who died last month on Kensington Avenue.

Staff Writer Conor Berry contributed to this report.

Philip Chism, accused in Danvers teacher murder, due in court in separate assault case

0
0

A teenager charged with killing his teacher is due in court this week on charges stemming from an assault on a Department of Youth Services worker.

BOSTON (AP) — A teenager charged with killing his teacher is due in court this week on charges stemming from an assault on a Department of Youth Services worker.

Philip Chism, of Danvers, is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Suffolk County Juvenile Court.

The 15-year-old Chism is charged with murder in the killing of his math teacher, 24-year-old Colleen Ritzer, in October.

He was indicted last month for allegedly assaulting a 29-year-old female staff member at the Metro Youth Services facility in Boston, where he was being held while awaiting trial in Ritzer's death. Chism is charged with attempted murder by strangulation, assault with intent to murder, kidnapping and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Prosecutors say Chism followed the woman into a bathroom and physically assaulted her.

Kerry outlines U.S. case against Russia on Malaysia Airlines plane downed in Ukraine

0
0

"A buildup of extraordinary circumstantial evidence ... it's powerful here," said Secretary of State John Kerry, a former prosecutor, and it holds Russian-supported rebels in eastern Ukraine responsible for shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, with the Kremlin complicit in the deaths of nearly 300 passengers and crew members.

WASHINGTON -- Video of a rocket launcher, one surface-to-air missile missing, leaving the likely launch site. Imagery showing the firing. Calls claiming credit for the strike. Recordings said to reveal a cover-up at the crash site.

"A buildup of extraordinary circumstantial evidence ... it's powerful here," said Secretary of State John Kerry, a former prosecutor, and it holds Russian-supported rebels in eastern Ukraine responsible for shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, with the Kremlin complicit in the deaths of nearly 300 passengers and crew members.

"This is the moment of truth for Russia," said Kerry, leveling some of Washington's harshest criticism of Moscow since the crisis in Ukraine began.

"Russia is supporting these separatists. Russia is arming these separatists. Russia is training these separatists, and Russia has not yet done the things necessary in order to try to bring them under control," he said.

In a round of television interviews, Kerry cited a mix of U.S. and Ukrainian intelligence and social media reports that he said "obviously points a very clear finger at the separatists" for firing the missile that brought the plane down, killing nearly 300 passengers and crew.

"It's pretty clear that this is a system that was transferred from Russia into the hands of separatists," he said.

Video of an SA-11 launcher, with one of its missiles missing and leaving the likely launch site, has been authenticated, he said.

An Associated Press journalist saw a missile launcher in rebel-held territory close to the crash site just hours before the plane was brought down Thursday.

"There's a buildup of extraordinary circumstantial evidence," Kerry said. "We picked up the imagery of this launch. We know the trajectory. We know where it came from. We know the timing, and it was exactly at the time that this aircraft disappeared from the radar. We also know from voice identification that the separatists were bragging about shooting it down afterward."

In one set of calls, said by Ukrainian security services to have been recorded shortly after the plane was hit, a prominent rebel commander, Igor Bezler, tells a Russian military intelligence officer that rebel forces shot down a plane.

Shortly before Kerry's television appearances, the U.S. Embassy in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, released a statement saying experts had authenticated the calls.

"Audio data provided to the press by the Ukrainian security service was evaluated by intelligence community analysts who confirmed these were authentic conversations between known separatist leaders, based on comparing the Ukraine-released internet audio to recordings of known separatists," the statement said.

A new set of recordings apparently made Friday also appears to implicate rebels in an attempted cover-up at the crash site.

In one exchange, a man identified as the leader of the rebel Vostok Battalion Alexander Khodakovsky states that two recording devices are being held by the head of intelligence of the insurgency's military commander. The commander is then heard to order the militiaman to ensure no outsiders, including an international observation team near the crash site at the reported time of the call, get hold of any material.

The man identified as Khodakovsky says he is pursuing inquiries about the black boxes under instructions from "our high-placed friends ... in Moscow."

In another conversation with a rebel representative at the crash site who reports finding an orange box marked as a satellite navigation box, Khodakovsky is purported to order that the object be hidden.

U.S. aviation safety experts say they are especially concerned the site will be "spoiled" if it cannot be quickly secured by investigators. Based on photographs, they say it is a very large debris field consistent with an in-flight explosion and the main evidence to be collected would be pieces of the missile.

Because the integrity of the plane and actions of the pilots are not an issue, the experts do not believe the flight recorders will yield much useful information.

U.S. and Ukrainian authorities have been at the forefront of accusations that the separatists, aided by Russia, are responsible, although other countries, including Australia and Britain have offered similar, if less definitive, assessments.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said in an unusual front-page piece in the Sunday Times that there is growing evidence that separatist backed by Russia shot down the aircraft.

"If President (Vladimir) Putin does not change his approach to Ukraine, then Europe and the West must fundamentally change our approach to Russia," Cameron wrote.

Putin and other Russian officials have blamed the government in Ukraine for creating the situation and atmosphere in which the plane was downed, but have yet to directly address the allegations that the separatists were responsible or were operating with technical assistance from Moscow.

In his interviews, Kerry accused Russia of "playing" a dual-track policy in Ukraine of saying one thing and doing another. That, he said, "is really threatening both the larger interests as well as that region and threatening Ukraine itself."

He lamented that the level of trust between Washington and Moscow is now at a low ebb, saying it "would be ridiculous at this point in time to be trusting" of what the Kremlin says.

Kerry also said the administration was hopeful that the incident would galvanize support in Europe for increasing sanctions on Russia over its overall actions in Ukraine.

"We hope this is a wake-up call for some countries in Europe that have been reluctant to move," Kerry said, noting that President Barack Obama had signed off on a new round of sanctions on Russia the day before the plane went down.

Kerry made his comments in appearance on five talk shows: CNN's "State of the Union," ''Fox News Sunday," CBS's "Face the Nation," NBC's "Meet the Press," and ABC's "This Week."

Ludlow Police on scene of domestic shooting

0
0

The armed assailant is in custody.

LUDLOW - An armed man is dead after attempting to gain access to a house on Deroche Circle.

Police did not say if anyone else was injured during the altercation. One ambulance was seen leaving the street around 7:30 p.m.

The incident started at about 6:30 p.m. on the quiet street off Holyoke Street, said Ludlow Police Sgt. Daniel Valadas,

"We received numerous 911 calls of an armed assailant at a home," he said.

At least three family members were in the house at the time and two were on the phone talking to different dispatchers, he said.

Police from Chicopee, Wilbraham and Massachusetts State Police responded and some remain at the scene.

"The armed assailant is no longer a threat. He is secured," he said.

The family has left the house. The Ludlow dog officer also helped rescue a dog that was left inside the house.

Neighbors who gathered at the end of Deroche Circle said they heard multiple gunshots but did not know what happened.

They said they heard anywhere between eight and a dozen.

"I heard shots. There were numerous shots and then the cops started coming down the street," said Kate Gorbovets, who lives on Deroche Circle.

She said she heard three and then there was a pause and then she heard two more and there was another pause and then there were more.

"II just hope no one was hurt," she said.

At first Steven Lauzon said he thought the noise he was hearing was from firecrackers.

"There were at least 12 different shots fired," he said.

This is a breaking story. Masslive will update as more information becomes available.

John Kerry headed to Mideast in bid for cease-fire between Israel and Palestine

0
0

The State Department said Kerry would leave early Monday for Egypt where he will join diplomatic efforts to resume a truce that had been agreed to in November 2012.

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State John Kerry is heading back to the Middle East as the Obama administration attempts to bolster regional efforts to reach a ceasefire and sharpens its criticism of Hamas in its conflict with Israel.

The State Department said Kerry would leave early Monday for Egypt where he will join diplomatic efforts to resume a truce that had been agreed to in November 2012. In a statement Sunday evening, department spokeswoman Jen Psaki called the U.S. and international partners "deeply concerned about the risk of further escalation, and the loss of more innocent life."

The Obama administration has toned down its earlier rebuke of Israel for attacks on the Gaza Strip that have killed civilians, including children, although both President Barack Obama and Kerry expressed concern about the rising death toll.

The U.S. will urge the militant Palestinian group to accept a cease-fire agreement that would halt nearly two weeks of fighting with Israel. More than 430 Palestinians and 20 Israelis have been killed in that time.

Cairo has offered a cease-fire plan that is backed by the U.S. and Israel. But Hamas has rejected the Egyptian plan and is relying on governments in Qatar and Turkey for an alternative proposal. Qatar and Turkey have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is also linked to Hamas but banned in Egypt.

Making the rounds of Sunday talk shows, Kerry pointed to Hamas' role in the violence.

"It's ugly. War is ugly, and bad things are going to happen," Kerry told ABC's "This Week." But, he added, Hamas needs "to recognize their own responsibility."

Both Obama and Kerry said Israel has a right to defend itself against frequent rocket attacks by Hamas from the Gaza Strip. Kerry accused Hamas of attempting to sedate and kidnap Israelis through a network of tunnels that militants have used to stage cross-border raids.

He said on CNN's "State of the Union" that Hamas must "step up and show a level of reasonableness, and they need to accept the offer of a cease-fire."

Then, Kerry said, "we will certainly discuss all of the issues relevant to the underlying crisis."

The nearly two-week conflict appeared to be escalating as U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon was already in the region to try to revive cease-fire efforts.

Obama, in a telephone call Sunday, told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Kerry was coming to the Mideast and condemned Hamas' attacks, according to a White House statement.

The U.N. relief agency in Gaza estimates that 70,000 Palestinians have fled their homes in the fighting and are seeking shelter in schools and other shelters the United Nations has set up. The relief agency's top director in Gaza, Robert Turner, told CNN's "State of the Union" that the U.N. has run out of mattresses for refugees and few hygiene and medical supplies are left, although fresh food and water remain available.

"People are scared," Turner said. "They don't feel safe at home, they don't feel safe with their families or neighbors. They feel relatively safe in our installations. ... We frankly have been overwhelmed by the numbers."

He said more than 1,000 homes in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged beyond repair, and at least 13,000 lightly damaged.

U.S. officials made clear, however, that Hamas could bring relief to the Palestinian people if it agrees to a cease-fire proposed by Egypt -- a view that Netanyahu is pushing as well.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, urged Israel to "stay as long as you need to stay, go wherever you need to go, do deal with a viper's nest called Hamas."

"If it's left up to Hamas, thousands of Israelis would be dead," Graham, R-S.C., told NBC's "Meet the Press."

Netanyahu agreed. In an ABC interview, he said Israel has tried to avoid killing Palestinian civilians through phone calls, text messages and leaflets dropped on their communities.

But Hamas doesn't "give a whit about the Palestinians," Netanyahu said. "All they want is more and more civilian deaths."

The prime minister said his top goal is to restore a sustainable peace, but then will ask the international community to consider demilitarizing Gaza to rid Hamas of its rockets and shut down the tunnels leading into Israel. Netanyahu brushed off a question about giving concessions to Hamas as a step toward peace, including releasing Palestinian prisoners or loosening border crossings.

"Hamas doesn't care," Netanyahu said. "I think the last thing you want to do is reward them."

Kerry also said any cease-fire agreement must be without conditions or "any rewards for terrorist behavior." He did not mention the Qatari or Turkish efforts.

Kerry also blamed the latest wave of violence on what he called Israel's "legitimate" efforts to pursue and punish those who last month kidnapped and killed three Israeli teenagers whose bodies were found in the West Bank.

Their deaths were followed almost immediately by what authorities believe was a retribution attack on a Palestinian youth who was strangled, beaten and burned to death.

Tensions between Israel and Palestinian authorities have been simmering for years. They threatened to boil over this spring when Israel shelved nearly nine months of peace negotiations that were being personally shepherded by Kerry after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to create a unity government with Hamas.

"No country could sit by and not take steps to try to deal with people who are sending thousands of rockets your way," Kerry said.

Kerry spoke Sunday on all five major news network talk shows: NBC's "Meet the Press," CNN's "State of the Union," ABC's "This Week", CBS' "Face the Nation" and "Fox News Sunday."


Iraq War Army National Guard veteran cited for owning 14 therapeutic pet ducks

0
0

Darin Welker, 36, says the ducks help him with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and keep him more active.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ohio -- An Army veteran who hurt his back during the Iraq War is worried a citation will result in him losing his 14 pet ducks, which he says are therapeutic.

Darin Welker said officials in the village of West Lafayette told him to get rid of the ducks in May and cited him for a minor misdemeanor on June 23 for failing to comply. Walker is scheduled to appear in Coshocton Municipal Court for a hearing Wednesday and could face a $150 fine.

Welker, 36, says the ducks help him with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and keep him more active.

West Lafayette, about 80 miles east of Columbus, banned residents from keeping fowl and other farm animals in 2010.

Mayor Jack Patterson declined to comment on Welker's predicament and referred questions to village police Chief Terry Mardis, who couldn't be reached for comment.

Welker told the Coshocton Tribune that he's had the ducks since March. He said they motivate him to get out of the house so he can feed and clean up after them.

"They're quite a relaxing animal, and they help comfort me in different situations," Welker recently told the Tribune as he held one duck like a baby and stroked its neck. "(Watching them) keeps you entertained for hours at a time."

Welker served a year in Iraq with the Army National Guard in 2005 and said he came home with a major back injury that required surgery in 2012.

The Department of Veterans Affairs paid for the back surgery but declined to pay for physical therapy recommended by his surgeon and did not provide him with counseling, he said. That's partly why he has come to rely on the ducks, he said.

Welker said he's planning to tell the judge how much the ducks have helped him. He said he has a letter from the VA's mental health department recommending he be allowed to keep them.

The 14 ducks live in a penned-in area in Welker's backyard, which also has kiddie pools so they can swim.

Palestinian-American teen detained by Israeli security forces tells his story

0
0

A Palestinian-American teen detained by Israeli security forces while on a family visit to the Middle East said Sunday he had been beaten, kicked and blindfolded after a cousin there was abducted and killed.

TAMPA, Fla. -- A Palestinian-American teen detained by Israeli security forces while on a family visit to the Middle East said Sunday he had been beaten, kicked and blindfolded after a cousin there was abducted and killed.

Fifteen-year-old Tariq Abu Khdeir flew home to Tampa last week and told The Associated Press in an interview from his home in Florida that he hopes he can eventually visit the region again and "come back safe."

"If I want to see my family members I hope I can," he said, adding "I don't want to have any problems with anybody."

Israeli authorities released Tariq three days after he was detained and sentenced him to nine days of house arrest while they investigated what they said was his participation in violent protests over the death of his cousin, 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir, a Palestinian living near Jerusalem.

Seated beside his mother in their Tampa home, the teen told AP that he did not take part in rock-throwing disturbances before he was picked up by Israeli security forces. He said he just was watching and listening to a commotion surrounding the investigation of the disappearance of his cousin when Israeli forces began shooting rubber bullets and tear gas into a crowd that had formed.

"I didn't do anything to them (Israeli authorities) to do this to me," he said.

The teen said in the first moments of being picked up that he was slammed down. And during the ordeal, he said, he was kicked on several parts of his body and blindfolded. In June, the family had opened the trip that was to have lasted about six weeks.

Tariq said in the interview that he and Mohammed had become close friends following his arrival. They visited sacred sites including the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. They had fun, joked and played games. He said they also helped others in their neighborhood -- setting up lights in neighbor's homes before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"He took me to as many places as he could," Tariq said.

Mohammed was killed the fifth week of the visit, Tariq said, adding that the tenor of the trip immediately changed after the cousin disappeared and then was found dead.

"There was no next day," Tariq said.

Tariq said he had gone to a bakery for about five minutes the day Mohammed disappeared, returning to find him gone.

The American teen spent the next hours with relatives trying to find out from police what had happened to his cousin. After Mohammed was found dead, a crowd filled with family members formed and started screaming at the police, Tariq said.

"Everything was getting so tense," he recalled in the interview.

The neighborhood calmed before security forces came back and started shooting rubber bullets and tear gas, according to Tariq.

"When they were shooting at us, I went into an alley so I could get a better view and I just started sitting there thinking . I wanted to know why this is happening," Tariq said.

He saw people on his left running and screaming for help. Right behind them were three soldiers, he said. Everyone scattered and ran from the alley. Tariq said he tried to jump a gate but fell.

"I was running because I didn't know why they (Israeli authorities) were running after me," he said.

Tariq said he was slammed down, head first, when detained. He added that his hands were tied behind his back and he was kicked in the face, stomach and ribs and went unconscious for a time. Tariq said he was taken to jail where he was blindfolded and still handcuffed.

Tariq said he felt the hits again, after his release, when he watched a video of his beating.

"I couldn't believe it. All the stuff I went through," Tariq said. "I was getting hit so much, I couldn't even say words."

Although the teen showed no visible injuries Sunday, his mother said Tariq has visited the hospital since.

Now he's getting ready to go back to school in a few weeks.

"It's been a tough summer," he said, noting what began as a "fun" trip suddenly turned for the worse. "They took my cousin, my best friend ... they took him and they killed him."

Worcester man charged with home invasion, kidnapping of woman and infant

0
0

A local man who allegedly abducted a 19-year-old woman and her 11-month-old daughter at gunpoint was arrested Sunday afternoon after being stopped by state police while riding with the two kidnapped females in a cab on the Massachusetts Turnpike.

 
WORCESTER — A local man who allegedly abducted a 19-year-old woman and her 11-month-old daughter at gunpoint was arrested Sunday afternoon after being stopped by state police while riding with the two kidnapped females in a cab on the Massachusetts Turnpike.

At 1:45 p.m. Sunday, Worcester police responded to an apartment building on Chandler Street for a reported kidnapping. When officers arrived, they learned that a man named Jesus Rodriguez, 22, of 171 Pilgrim Ave., had pistol whipped a relative of a 19-year-old woman who is the mother of Rodriguez's child. Rodriguez then allegedly pointed the handgun at another woman inside the apartment before forcing the 19-year-old woman and the infant from the apartment into a waiting livery cab before driving off, according to police.

Worcester EMS arrived at the Chandler Street apartment and transported the person who was pistol whipped to a nearby hospital for treatment of lacerations to the head, according to police.

Worcester police contacted the livery company and learned that Rodriguez was traveling to Springfield in a 2007 Lincoln Town Car. Officers shared the information with surrounding police departments and the Massachusetts State Police.

At around 2:30 p.m., State Trooper Joseph Hilton spotted the vehicle traveling west on the Mass Pike. Troopers stopped the vehicle in Ludlow and found Rodriguez with the woman and child in the car. Troopers also found a loaded handgun in the car and determined that Rodriguez did not have a license to carry the weapon.

The woman and baby were taken to the state police barracks in Charlton and then to Worcester, where they declined medical attention, according to police.

Rodriguez was also taken to the Charlton barracks where he was met by Worcester police and taken back to the city department.

Rodriguez was charged with home invasion, possession of a firearm without an FID card, possession of ammunition without an FID Card, child endangerment, violation of a restraining order, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (gun), threatening to commit a crime (murder) and two counts of kidnapping.

Ohio dog kills visiting infant while step-grandmother babysits

0
0

Montgomery County records show an American Staffordshire terrier is registered at the address where the baby was killed.

DAYTON, Ohio -- A dog attacked and killed a 7-month-old baby boy in Dayton on Sunday, authorities said.

dogattack.jpgView full sizeIn this screengrab from a video by WDTN-TV in Dayton, Ohio, relatives grieve Sunday as police investigate a fatal dog attack on a baby. 

A step-grandmother was watching the baby for the day when her dog attacked and killed the infant, police told The Dayton Daily News. Police were called to the scene shortly after noon.

A Montgomery County coroner's investigator said the baby is from another state.

The baby's name hasn't been released pending family notification.

An animal control officer removed the dog, which police identified as a pit bull.


Montgomery County records show an American Staffordshire terrier, which is similar in appearance to a pit bull, is registered at the address where the baby was killed.

A June 3 police report shows the same dog attacked and injured another dog before it got away.

A dozen people who gathered at the home after the attack cried and screamed. Police say the step-grandmother was so distraught she couldn't walk on her own.

Armed assailant dead, Ludlow family rescued unharmed in domestic incident

0
0

Neighbors estimated between eight and a dozen shots were fired.

This updates a story posted at 7:27 p.m.

LUDLOW — An armed man who attacked his estranged wife, two teenaged children and a niece is dead and the family was rescued uninjured.

The man, whose name has not been released until his family could be notified, is believed to have shot himself outside the 24 Helena St. home he was attempting to enter Sunday, Ludlow Police Sgt. Daniel Valadas said.

The Police Department received multiple 911 calls starting at 6:23 p.m. from neighbors on Helena Street and Deroche Circle, who said they heard multiple shots in the neighborhood.

“The husband was shooting at the house,” Valadas said.

The wife and three children were trying to find a place inside that was safe from the gunfire, he said.

Among the 911 calls were the wife, whose name was not released, and a next door neighbor. Dispatchers were able to keep both on the phone during the entire incident to find out what was happening and to do their best to keep them safe, Valadas said.

Ludlow Sgt. Michael Brennan, who is the head of the police emergency response team, arrived first to find the man shooting. He was able to rescue the woman, her two children who are 17 and 14 and a visiting niece through a window. Valadas did not immediately know the details of the rescue.

In less than an hour police announced the assailant was no longer a threat. In another hour they said he had killed himself.

No one else was injured in the incident. After the shooting, the town dog officer was able to rescue the family dog that remained in the house. The pet was found uninjured, Valadas said.

“I think we are very lucky here. We had a very angry, despondent male,” he said. “There were multiple shots fired.”

With limited resources and what they knew was as a dangerous situation, Ludlow Police requested and received assistance from Chicopee Police, which sent three officers, Wilbraham police, which sent two officers and the Massachusetts State Police which initially sent eight officers and have added other units to assist, Valadas said.

“We were able to get help fast,” Valadas said, adding he appreciated all the assistance from neighboring departments.

Ludlow police were dealing with the booking of a shoplifter at the same time and a Wilbraham sergeant even came to handle that, he said.

Police Chief Paul Madera was also at the scene but left to talk to the family of the assailant.

Valadas could not say how many shots were fired, but neighbors said they heard between eight and a dozen.

"I heard shots. There were numerous shots and then the cops started coming down the street," said Kate Gorbovets, who lives on Deroche Circle.

She said she heard three and then there was a pause and then she heard two more and there was another pause and then there were more.

"I just hope no one was hurt," she said.

At first Steven Lauzon said he thought the noise he was hearing was from firecrackers.
"There were at least 12 different shots fired," he said.

Deroche Circle is expected to be closed for most of the night to everyone but residents. Helena Street was completely closed while officers continued to gather evidence and the medical examiner could arrive.

Viewing all 62489 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images