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Is your smartphone making you sleep deprived?

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Light from electronic devices adds up to fewer hours of sleep.

Some studies, including a 2012 one from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, have suggested that using electronic devices prior to bedtime can make sleep elusive.

"Any light exposure in the evening hours basically suppresses melatonin and other hormones that makes us feel sleepy. It is basically giving your brain a signal that it is not night yet and that you are not tired," said Dr. Karin Johnson, a Baystate Medical Center neurologist, and part of Baystate Health's regional sleep program.

Distance from artificial light is a factor, Johnson said, making TV watching less of an influence than an up-close electronic device.

"Something close to your face gives you more light exposure," Johnson said. She said this, combined with the playing of an online game, like the addictive Candy Crush, can "rev you up" to not sleep. Clicking through the day's news, with its headlines about ISIS and global warming, can also contribute to a sleepless night, she added.

"Electronic devices, have a stimulating effect that makes it more difficult to fall asleep," Johnson said.

She said teens, on average, use about five different electronic devices in the last hour before bed, ranging from iPhones to iPads to computers.

"Of course, some people are not bother by this at all, and can sleep anywhere at anytime, while others are more sensitive," Johnson said.

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Still, Johnson noted that it is normal for the sleeping patterns of adolescents to shift to later hours, making an early rising time difficult.

"Teens already have patterns of delayed sleep, so any light effect makes this worse, making it harder, as well, to get up at 7 for school. They end up even more sleep deprived."

She recommends that teens, "the last hour before bed, turn off electronic devices, especially computers, iPones and eReaders."

During the last 20 years, Johnson said electronic devices have become "bigger issues in terms of treating insomina." For example, she said an escape weekend to rural Vermont, without technology and when "it gets dark at 8 p.m., can make you ready to go to bed by 8:30 p.m."

She cautioned that, though TV is better in terms of its light stimulation factor, she said "watching all those reality TV shows and crime dramas before bed" is most likely not going to be conducive to sleep.

"You might feel tired initially, but wake up later re-living 'C.S.I.' in your dreams," said Johnson of the popular crime scene investigation dramas. "The more there is on TV, the less likely your body will be tired."

Johnson said there is data showing that humans, with their constant exposure to artificial light, are sleeping fewer hours than their ancestors, and in different patterns.

"With the trend closer to seven hours of sleep a night, we are sleeping less than our ancestors," Johnson said. "In the olden days, they would first sleep from 8 p.m. to 12, and then from 2 to 6 a.m. They would sleep in two blocks, falling asleep when it gets dark and then getting up in the middle of the night for awhile."

In preparing for bedtime, Johnson recommends limiting light exposure, taking a hot bath, and, if reading on a electronic device, to "dim it as much as possible."

"Cool, quiet and dark are the big three," said Johnson of getting ready for sleep. "Pets disrupt sleep, as do kids. Things like eye covers, as well as ear plugs, if you have a snoring spouse, can help manage external factors, as well not having an uncomfortable mattress."

She recommends going to bed at the same time and waking up at the same time, for seven days, to get into a routine, and, if you can't sleep, doing something relaxing until you feel sleepy.

Johnson admits that she is guilty of having bad habits at bedtime, indulging in a online game of "Candy Crush or Scrabble, checking email, reading Facebook. "

"It is very easy to move from one thing to another," Johnson said.

"There are a few rules you can try to follow. Put blocks on your smartphone, so you don't have any text coming through after a certain time. Commit not to check Facebook, or play games. Smartphone can be used for sleep, as there are some good sleep apps. But, in general, you have to stay away from the games, and the news and those type of things at night."



Top US general in Iraq amid airstrikes against Islamic State group

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The visit by Army Gen. Martin Dempsey came just two days after he told Congress that the United States would consider dispatching a modest number of American forces to fight with Iraqi troops against the extremist group.


BAGHDAD (AP) -- America's top military leader arrived in Iraq on Saturday on a surprise visit, his first since a U.S.-led coalition began launching airstrikes against the extremist Islamic State group.

The visit by Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, came just two days after he told Congress that the United States would consider dispatching a modest number of American forces to fight with Iraqi troops against the extremist group.

The Iraqi military and security forces, trained by the U.S. at the cost of billions of dollars, melted away in the face of the group's stunning offensive this summer, when it captured most of northern and western Iraq, including the country's second-largest city Mosul.

Dempsey said Thursday that Iraqi forces were doing a better job now, although an effort to move into Mosul or to restore the border with Syria would require more complex operations.

He also told the U.S. House Armed Services Committee that America has a modest force in Iraq now, and that "any expansion of that, I think, would be equally modest."

"I just don't foresee a circumstance when it would be in our interest to take this fight on ourselves with a large military contingent," he said.

Dempsey's spokesman, Air Force Col. Ed Thomas, said the general planned to visit U.S. troops, commanders and Iraqi leaders. "The primary purpose of his visit is to get a firsthand look at the situation in Iraq, receive briefings, and get better sense of how the campaign is progressing."

The visit so far has included talks in Baghdad with U.S. Ambassador Stuart E. Jones and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, Thomas said.

Iraqi state television said Dempsey and al-Abadi have met, but gave no further details.

Dempsey's visit comes just one day after Iraqi forces drove Islamic State militants out of a strategic oil refinery town north of Baghdad, scoring their biggest battlefield victory yet.

On Saturday, state television said government forces were in full control of the refinery, Iraq's largest, which lies some 20 kilometers (15 miles) north of the town of Beiji.

The recapture of Beiji marks the latest in a series of setbacks for the jihadi group, which has lost hundreds of fighters to U.S.-led coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, particularly in the group's stalled advance on the Syrian town of Kobani. On Friday, activists there reported significant progress by the town's Kurdish defenders.

Meanwhile on Saturday, two parked car bombs exploded minutes apart north of Baghdad, targeting a checkpoint staffed by army soldiers and security forces, authorities said. The attack killed nine people and wounded 32, according to police and hospital officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief journalists.

Georgia man sentenced to 10 years in prison for $50 million credit card fraud ring

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Cameron Harrison, aka "Kilobit," 28, of Augusta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to possessing more than 260 compromised credit and debit card numbers

(AP) A Georgia man is heading to prison for nearly 10 years for his role in a credit card fraud gang associated with a website called Carder.su that is linked to $50 million in worldwide losses.

Cameron Harrison, aka "Kilobit," 28, of Augusta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to possessing more than 260 compromised credit and debit card numbers, which were recovered from his computer and email accounts following his arrest.

He also admitted, according to the Department of Justice, that the Carder.su organization committed money laundering, narcotics trafficking and computer crimes. He said members tried to avoid detection by communicating through various encrypted forums, such as chat rooms, private messaging systems and virtual private networks.

Harrison was identified when he purchased a counterfeit Georgia driver's license from an undercover special agent through the Carder.su network. During interactions with the undercover special agent, Harrison admitted he had been a vendor of counterfeit identifications in the defunct cyberfraud organization "ShadowCrew."

Fifty-five individuals were charged in four separate indictments in Operation Open Market, run by Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Secret Service. To date, 26 individuals have been convicted and the rest are either fugitives or are awaiting trial.

Harrison pleaded guilty to participating in a racketeer influenced corrupt organization, conspiracy to engage in a racketeer influenced and corrupt organization, and trafficking in and production of false identification documents.

"This significant sentence is entirely fitting given that this defendant's actions and those of the larger criminal organization harmed countless innocent Americans and seriously compromised our financial system," said Homeland Security Investigations Executive Associate Director Peter T. Edge. "Criminals like this defendant who believe they can elude detection by hiding behind their computer screens here and overseas are discovering that cyberspace affords no refuge from American justice."

David Faust, alleged cocaine dealer, set to plead guilty in U.S. District Court in Springfield

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Faust was wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet per his release on the federal charges.

SPRINGFIELD - David Faust, arrested last month for allegedly selling drugs while out on federal bail and saddled with an electronic monitoring bracelet, is scheduled to plead guilty in U.S. District Court on Monday.

Faust was among 20 men arrested in June during a local, state and federal law enforcement crackdown focused on illegal drugs and firearms. He was charged with cocaine distribution. Faust was released on bail in federal court. He was then arrested on Oct. 10 by city police who said Faust had been traveling with another man in a black Lexus, selling drugs across the city. The second defendant was Craig O. Jones, 25.

Faust was wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet per his release on the federal charges.

He was charged in state court with possession with intent to distribute oxycodone and marijuana. A judge in Springfield District Court set a $25,000 bail. Faust has been held behind bars since his October arrest; U.S. District Magistrate Judge Kenneth Neiman formally revoked his federal bail on Oct. 22.

The judge also ordered that Faust's family members forfeit $10,000 in a cash bail they cobbled together.

Obituaries today: James Brown was Agawam firefighter, instructor at Massachusetts Fire Academy

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Obituaries from The Republican.

 
111514-james-brown.jpgJames Brown 

James K. Brown, 62, of Feeding Hills passed away on Tuesday. He was raised in Feeding Hills, and was a 1970 graduate of Agawam High School. He attended the University of Houston and worked in the oil fields in Gillette, Wyoming before returning to Feeding Hills to become a firefighter EMT, work on the family's farm and start a family of his own. He was a firefighter for the Town of Agawam from 1979 until his retirement as a lieutenant in 2009, and taught as a fire instructor at the Massachusetts Fire Academy in Stow through retirement. He had a passion for his work on the family's Brown's Farm, as well as cooking.

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Boston, other major cities brace for protests off Ferguson decision

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From Boston to Los Angeles, police departments are bracing for large demonstrations when a grand jury decides whether to indict a white police officer who killed an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri.

BOSTON (AP) -- From Boston to Los Angeles, police departments are bracing for large demonstrations when a grand jury decides whether to indict a white police officer who killed an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri.

The St. Louis County grand jury, which has been meeting since Aug. 20, is expected to decide this month whether Officer Darren Wilson is charged with a crime for killing Michael Brown after ordering the 18-year-old and a friend to stop walking in the street on Aug. 9.

The shooting has led to tension with police and a string of unruly protests there and brought worldwide attention to the formerly obscure St. Louis suburb, where more than half the population is black and yet few police officers are.

For some cities, a decision in the racially charged case will, inevitably, reignite long-simmering debates over local police relations with minority communities.

Michael BrownMichael Brown, 18 

"It's definitely on our radar," said Lt. Michael McCarthy, police spokesman in Boston, where police leaders met privately Wednesday to discuss preparations. "Common sense tells you the timeline is getting close. We're just trying to prepare in case something does step off, so we are ready to go with it."

In Los Angeles, rocked by riots in 1992 after the acquittal of police officers in the videotaped beating of Rodney King, police officials say they've been in touch with their counterparts in Missouri, where Gov. Jay Nixon and St. Louis-area law enforcement held a news conference this week on their own preparations.

"Naturally, we always pay attention," said Cmdr. Andrew Smith, a police spokesman. "We saw what happened when there were protests over there and how oftentimes protests spill from one part of the country to another."

In Las Vegas, police joined pastors and other community leaders this week to call for restraint at a rally tentatively planned northwest of the casino strip when a decision comes.

And in Berkeley, Missouri, a town neighboring Ferguson, officials this week passed out fliers urging residents to be prepared for unrest just as they would a major storm -- with plenty of food, water and medicine in case they're unable to leave home for several days.

In Boston, a group called "Black Lives Matter," which also has chapters in other major cities, is organizing a rally in front of the police district office in the Roxbury neighborhood the day after an indictment decision.

In October, the group, as part of a larger coalition, rallied in front of police headquarters protesting the department's "racially biased stop, frisk, and search practices" and expressing solidarity with protesters in Ferguson.

Organizers at the time pointed to an American Civil Liberties Union report that concluded Boston's black residents are more likely to be stopped, questioned or searched by police, an assertion the department has strongly disputed, saying it was based on old data.

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, police are expecting demonstrations after having dealt with a string of angry protests following a March police shooting of a homeless camper and more than 40 police shootings since 2010.

Philadelphia police spokesman Lt. John Stanford anticipates his city will see demonstrations, regardless of what the grand jury returns. "We're not oblivious to the fact that ... there are going to be protests," he said.

But big-city police departments stressed they're well-equipped to handle crowds.

Indeed, many saw large, mostly peaceful demonstrations following the 2013 not-guilty verdict in the slaying of Florida teen Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, who was not a police officer but coordinated the local neighborhood watch.

In Los Angeles, protesters briefly shut down part of a freeway and caused some vandalism in city neighborhoods. In New York City, hundreds marched from Union Square north to Times Square, where a "sit-in" caused gridlock in one of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections.

"We're the largest police department in the nation, we're trained to move swiftly and handle events as they come up," said Stephen Davis, a New York City Police Department spokesman.

In Boston, McCarthy said the city's 2,200 sworn police officers have dealt with the range of public actions, from sports fans spontaneously streaming into the streets following championship victories to protest movements like Occupy.

"We've had a lot of practice," he said. "The good thing is that our relationships here with the community are much better than they are around the world. People look to us as a model. Boston is not Ferguson."

Gov. Deval Patrick cautiously optimistic for smoother health website launch

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Massachusetts residents hoping to find health insurance can begin searching the state's revamped health care website.

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts residents hoping to find health insurance can begin searching the state's revamped health care website.

The new system was open for business on Saturday, the start of the new open enrollment period, allowing people who need coverage to sign up for insurance plans.

Consumers will be able to use the website to browse health plans anonymously, create a new account, complete an application online, and find out what program they qualify for.

They will also be able to compare plans, including premiums, co-pays and benefits.

People who meet income eligibility requirements can get help paying for their coverage through the Health Connector or free coverage through MassHealth.

Gov. Deval Patrick says he's cautiously optimistic about the launch, saying officials have been "testing and retesting" the website.

Richard Taylor resigns from Charlie Baker's transition team amid questions over unpaid taxes

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A member of Massachusetts Gov.-elect Charlie Baker's transition team has stepped down following questions of unpaid taxes.

BOSTON (AP) — A member of Massachusetts Gov.-elect Charlie Baker's transition team has stepped down following questions of unpaid taxes.

The Boston Globe reported Saturday that Richard L. Taylor — a former state transportation secretary and Baker's choice to play a prominent role helping oversee his transition to the governor's office — has unpaid tax and business judgments of more than $1 million.

Taylor also lost his home three years ago when Bank of America foreclosed on his Chestnut Hill residence.

Taylor told the Globe his financial issues are solely linked to his failed Popeyes chicken franchise business. He said he is paying off the taxes and business debts.

Aides to Baker said Taylor hadn't previously revealed the financial problems.

Baker and Taylor both served in the administration of former Gov. William Weld.



Wapole man charged with vehicular homicide, 4th drunken driving offense after crash leaves female passenger dead in Boston

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A Wapole man is facing serious charges after an early morning crash on Saturday killed a female passenger in the car he was driving.

BOSTON — A Wapole man is facing serious charges after an early morning crash on Saturday killed a female passenger in the car he was driving.

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According to Massachusetts State Police, around 2:30 a.m. they began investigating a one-car accident on the Enneking Parkway in Boston's Hyde Park neighborhood.A preliminary investigation by Trooper Matthew Morrissey determined that a 2003 Honda Accord being driven by 42-year-old Jeffrey Mason was traveling on the Enneking Parkway when, for reasons still under investigation, lost control, causing it to roll over near the intersection with the Turtle Pond Parkway.

The female passenger, whose name was not released pending notification of her family, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Enneking Parkway was closed until approximately 5:00 a.m. for crash reconstruction and cleanup, police said. Mason was taken to Brigham and Women's Hospital for injuries he sustained in the crash, and is facing a slew of charges including 4th-offense operating under the influence of alcohol, motor vehicle homicide, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and reckless and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

Mason is scheduled to be arraigned Monday morning, pending release from the hospital.


Black Friday 2014: Connecticut mall sparks outrage after memo surfaces demanding retailers open at dinnertime on Thanksgiving

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In the quest for profits to the detriment of retail employees likely earning near minimum wages, one Connecticut mall sparked outrage this week after the general manager apparently issued a memo demanding that stores open at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving.

In the quest for profits to the detriment of retail employees looking to spend the holiday with their families, one Connecticut mall sparked outrage this week after the general manager issued a memo demanding that stores open at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving.

The memo, sent to store managers at the Westfield Connecticut Post Mall in Milford by G.M. Dan Kiley, notes that "In support of our retailers and customers who are eager to get a jump on Black Friday shopping, Connecticut Post will open at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving and will remain open through 10 p.m. on Black Friday. Opening at 6 p.m. is mandatory."

The memo, originally reported by New Haven-based ABC affiliate WTNH, goes on to say that while stores may close at midnight following the holiday, they are encouraged to keep employees on site overnight to push sales as part of the annual Black Friday holiday shopping craze. It also told store managers to do what they could to dissuade employees from posting reactions, presumably ones reflecting negatively on the mall, on social media sites.

Most locals the TV station spoke with were opposed to the controversial holiday opening, but one man said he supports the decision.

In defending the memo and the decision to force retailers to make their employees report for work around dinner time on Thanksgiving, the mall back peddled on the strong wording of the original memo and reframed the situation as one made in the interest of families.

"We understand there can be exceptions and would encourage those retailers to contact us individually," said Paul Sabina, Westfield District Mall marketing director, in a statement to WTNH. "We appreciate the various points of view on how families choose to celebrate Thanksgiving and other holiday traditions, and our opening hours are there to support the growing enthusiasm from customers and families who appreciate the extended holiday shopping and see it as an enjoyable end to their day with family and friends."

Black Friday is a national effort by retailers to push their numbers into the black as the fiscal year nears a close ahead of the busy holiday season. But as gimmicks mix with sales and greed across the country, each year's Black Friday is marred by trampling deaths and acts of violence, as consumers aim to save a few dollars.

In 2013, national protests centered on the fact that while some companies rake in billions in sales and profits, many of their employees only make the minimum wage. Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, is the primary target of such protests.

Opening on Thanksgiving to get an early start on the holiday is a controversial practice, and one that is banned in Massachusetts, thanks to the state's Blue Laws. Maine and Rhode Island also have laws on the books keeping retail stores closed on holidays, including Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The gallery above this story shows file photos of Black Friday at the Holyoke Mall, which typically opens around midnight after Thanksgiving, with stores opening a short time later.


Fire sweeps through Sherman Street home, 5 people displaced

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Fire guts Sherman Street home, leaving five people homeless.

Update, 10:00 a.m: Springfield Fire Department has confirmed the fire was started by unattended candles in a second floor bedroom. Dennis Leger, executive aide to Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant, said two people were displaced and the family dog perished in the blaze.

SPRINGFIELD— A candle burning in a second floor, front bedroom apparently started a fire that swept through the second floor and attic of a two-family house on Sherman Street Saturday night.

Firefighters were called to the scene at approximately 10:50 p.m. and found flames coming from the second floor, front windows of the two-and-a-half story house.

First floor resident Sonya Gonzalez said she was alerted by her landlord who lives on the second floor of the building. She said he told her candles may be the cause of the blaze.

Landlord and second floor resident Derek Nembtrand said he lit several candles to light his apartment during the power outage. He said he dozed off and when he awoke the entire front bedroom of engulfed in flames.

Both Gonzalez and neighbor Frankie Jones, who lives at 74 Sherman, said power went out at approximately 5 p.m., and never came back on. Up and down the street residents were using candles to light their homes and bundling up as heat began to escape from their homes. Street lights shown on nearby State Street as well as at the other end of the block at McKnight and Bay streets.

Lynn Vasquez, Community Relations Specialist for Western Mass. Electric Company said the outage was caused by a "cable fault," and said that crews are working on the problem. Power is expected to be restored to the street soon.

Firefighters remain at the scene as the stubborn flames continue to resist squelching. This story will be updated as information becomes available.

Defense secretary Hagel: Tight budgets, stronger foes, 13 years of war threaten U.S. military supremacy

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In a memo to Pentagon leaders in which be outlined the initiative, Hagel said the U.S. must not lose its commanding edge in military technology.

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. -- Wary of a more muscular Russia and China, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Saturday the Pentagon will make a new push for fresh thinking about how the U.S. can keep and extend its military superiority despite tighter budgets and the wear and tear of 13 years of war.

Hagel announced a "defense innovation initiative" that he likened to historic and successful campaigns during the Cold War to offset military advantages of U.S. adversaries. He described a "game-changing" strategy to sharpen American's military edge in the face of budget impasses on Capitol Hill.

"We must change the way we innovate, operate and do business," he told a defense forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

In a memo to Pentagon leaders in which be outlined the initiative, Hagel said the U.S. must not lose its commanding edge in military technology.

"While we have been engaged in two large land-mass wars over the last 13 years, potential adversaries have been modernizing their militaries, developing and proliferating disruptive capabilities across the spectrum of conflict. This represents a clear and growing challenge to our military power," he wrote.

Speaking just a short walk from Reagan's tomb, Hagel invoked the late president's legacy as a rebuilder of U.S. military strength in the 1980s and cited Reagan's famous call for the Soviets to tear down the Berlin Wall, which epitomized a divided Europe and a world at risk of a new global war.

"America and its allies prevailed over a determined Soviet adversary by coming together as a nation - over decades and across party lines - to make long-term, strategic investments, including in innovation and reform of our nation's military," he said. Those investments "ultimately helped force the Soviet military and Soviet regime to fold its hand."

In separate remarks to the defense forum, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. James Winnefeld, said Russia and China began reasserting themselves on the world stage to capitalize on America's "distraction" in the long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"In protecting our allies against potential mischief from these powers, we've always counted on our overmatch in capability and capacity to offset the challenges of distance and initiative," Winnefeld said. "That overmatch is now in jeopardy."

Hagel, a Republican who served two terms in Congress as a senator from Nebraska, said the U.S. can no longer count on outspending its rivals and potential adversaries.

But longstanding overseas alliances and America's reputation for dependability require, he said, that the military be able to project power abroad -- an expensive capability that he said is now at risk.

"If this capability is eroded or lost, we will see a world far more dangerous and unstable - far more threatening to America and our citizens here at home than we have seen since World War II," he said.

Hagel said the U.S. cannot afford to relax or assume that the military superiority it developed during the Cold War will automatically persist.

"We are not waiting for change to come to us - we are taking the initiative, getting ahead of the changes we know are coming, and making the long-term investments we need for the future," he said.

Hagel said he is launching a long-range research and development program to find and field breakthroughs in key technologies, including robotics, miniaturization and advanced manufacturing techniques such as 3-D printing. He said the Pentagon will call on the private sector and academia for help.

"This program will look toward the next decade and beyond," he said. "In the near-term, it will invite some of the brightest minds from inside and outside government to start with a clean sheet of paper and assess what technologies and systems DoD ought to develop over the next three to five years."

Hagel likened the program to the Eisenhower administration's "New Look" program in the 1950s, which sought to rapidly expand the U.S. nuclear weapon arsenal to offset superior Soviet conventional military power in Europe. He also compared it to the 1970s push by the Pentagon to emphasize long-range research into technologies that yielded such significant breakthroughs as stealth aircraft, Patriot air defense weapons, precision-guided bombs and missiles and more sophisticated surveillance systems.

"Because subsequent leaders, including President Reagan, sustained these investments on a bipartisan basis, these investments helped America build and hold our military edge for decades," he said.

Northampton Business Improvement District considers options after judge orders it to disband

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The Northampton BID made no decision Friday on whether to appeal the court ruling.

NORTHAMPTON — It's not clear whether the Northampton Business Improvement District will appeal Wednesday's court ruling ordering the nonprofit organization to cease all operations immediately.

The Nov. 12 ruling by Superior Court judge John A. Agostini found that the BID, created in 2009, was never validly formed and ordered it to shut down. The ruling was the result of a 2009 lawsuit filed against the BID and the city of Northampton by downtown property owners Eric Suher and Alan Scheinman. The judgment for the plaintiffs followed a five-day jury-waived trial held in Hampshire Superior Court this past August.

The BID's Board of Directors met Friday morning, but made no decision on whether to file a legal appeal, board president Charles Bowles said Friday.

"We are waiting for a more definitive understanding of the judge's ruling before we make a decision," said Bowles.

On Thursday, a lawyer for the BID filed an emergency motion in Hampshire Superior Court seeking extra time to wind down the organization's affairs.

The motion asks for a stay of Agostini's court order until 60 days after Dec. 11, 2014, the last day the BID could legally file an appeal, or conversely, until 60 days after the final resolution of any possible appeal.

"The BID requires a reasonable amount of time to wind up its affairs," reads the motion filed by Northampton lawyer Harry Miles.

The court filing notes that the BID has employees who are now out of a job without notice. Cutting checks to pay them might expose the BID to a contempt charge, even though failing to pay them would be a criminal offense, wrote Miles.

Bowles, in a telephone interview, said the BID leadership is now grappling with a "confusing and very frustrating situation."

The BID has an executive director and an administrative assistant on staff, he said, as well as workers who maintain the sidewalks and perform other duties. There are outstanding contracts, lease agreements, and other obligations, said Bowles.

"It's disheartening," said Bowles. "Five years of work have been frozen."

As of Friday afternoon, Agostini had not issued a decision on the BID's emergency motion to stay implementation of the trial court judgment.

Springfield shooting victim hospitalized,woman pistol-whipped

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A man was shot and a woman pistol-whipped at an after-hours party in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD— A Springfield man was shot in the chest Sunday morning, after a dispute at an after-hours party escalated into gunfire.

Springfield Police Lt. Thomas Maccini said police were called to 25 Reed St. just before 4:30 a.m. when a party-goer called 911 to report the shooting.

Officers found a man on the floor with a gunshot wound to the chest, and a woman who said she had been pistol whipped. The man was conscious and alert when police arrived, but refused to to cooperate with investigators. The woman refused medical treatment for her injuries.

The victim was rushed into treatment when he arrived at the hospital, officers reported. Maccini said the man's wounds while serious were not likely to be fatal.

The Major Crimes Unit is investigating the incident.

Earlier in the morning, police investigated a reported shooting one street over. Neighbors called police to report shots fired on Dresden Street shortly before 3 a.m. Police said a male was seen firing four or five shots with a revolver before running away. No injuries or damage to property were reported.


Hearing scheduled on Southwick's Congamond Road repairs

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The project is expected to begin in 2017.

SOUTHWICK - State and local officials will update residents on reconstruction plans for Congamond Road at a hearing Nov. 19 at Town Hall.

Representatives of Massachusetts Department of Transportation along with Southwick Department of Public Works director Randal D. Brown will outline plans for the estimated $3.9 million project that has been in the planning since 2008. The project is expected to begin in 2017.

The hearing will be held in the Town Hall Auditorium at 7 p.m.

Congamond Road extends from College Highway to the Suffield, Conn. line.


Again? A BMW impedes Boston firefighters battling South End blaze

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Boston firefighters had to maneuver around an illegally parked BMW while battling a South End blaze on Sunday in the vicinity of 64 Rutland Ave.

BOSTON -- Boston firefighters had to maneuver around an illegally parked BMW while battling a South End blaze on Sunday in the vicinity of 64 Rutland Ave.

The Boston Fire Department's Twitter account sent out two tweets depicting firefighters attaching hoses to a fire hydrant blocked by a BMW:

Two firefighters suffered thumb and shoulder injuries while battling the fire. No residents of the building were injured.

The three-alarm fire resulted in an estimated $300,000 in property damage.

Boston fire officials believe the fire started when a halogen lamp that came in contact with a mattress.

This was the second fire this year where Boston firefighters had to work around an illegally parked BMW. In April firefighters broke the windows of an illegally parked BMW in order to run hoses through it while containing an East Boston fire.

The five-alarm East Boston fire left 34 people homeless and injured two firefighters. The owner of the vehicle was fined $100

Obituaries today: Paul Berube owned Town Line General Machining in Holyoke

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Obituaries from The Republican.

 
111614-paul-berube.jpgPaul Berube 

Paul Michael Berube, 55, of Holyoke passed away on Wednesday. He was born in Springfield, grew up in West Springfield and lived in Holyoke for 29 years. He was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He was the owner of Town Line General Machining of Holyoke, a business he started in 1990, and previous to that he worked for Digital Corporation in Westfield. He loved to fish and travel with his family.

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Snow, sleet and rain expected for Western Massachusetts this week

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Rain, sleet and snow is predicted for Massachusetts.


SPRINGFIELD — The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for Central and Western Massachusetts.

The advisory is for Monday between 1 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Media partner of The Republican/MassLive.com CBS3 Springfield meteorologist Nick Morganelli said while some snow and icy conditions are expected, the Pioneer Valley will mostly see rain.

"There may be a brief mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain at it's arrival before dawn on Monday, particularly in the hill towns," he said.

He said wintry weather does not appear to have an impact on the Springfield area at this time, but there will be plenty of rain.


Will a tight gaming market convince New York to slow down on casino licensing process?

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After New York voters approved four upstate casinos last November, four Atlantic City casinos have closed, gambling profits plunged from Connecticut to Mississippi, and new casinos opened or were greenlighted in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

By DAVID KLEPPER, Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — What a difference a year makes.

After New York voters approved four upstate casinos last November, four Atlantic City casinos have closed, gambling profits plunged from Connecticut to Mississippi, and new casinos opened or were greenlighted in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

That increasingly unsettled, crowded market has casino developers and gambling opponents alike speculating that state regulators may award three licenses instead of the four authorized in the 2013 referendum.

"Gaming revenues are going to Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey," said Jeffrey Hyman of the proposed Howe Caverns Resort and Casino, west of Albany. "They could award fewer than four. They're going to decide, and they're going to decide soon."

Gambling opponents said the increased competition — blamed for casino closings in Atlantic City and Biloxi, Mississippi — shows why New York state should take its gambling expansion cautiously.

"With all the failures around the country, we don't think New York state should be in the business of promoting this as economic development," said Cara Benson, member of a group fighting plans for a casino in East Greenbush near Albany. "Just because you can award four doesn't mean you should."

The state board reviewing casino pitches is expected to make its decisions later this month, with 16 proposals vying for licenses to be split among three areas: the Capital Region, the Finger Lakes/Southern Tier and the Catskills/Hudson Valley.

Board members won't say which way they're leaning, or how many licenses they plan to recommend.

Nowhere in New York is the competition for a license as fierce as the Catskills/Hudson Valley region, where nine projects have been proposed for Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties.

The region was seen as the most likely to receive two licenses, and the possibility that one could be withheld worries some local officials.

The casinos were intended to bring jobs and tourism to economically struggling areas of the state. The three regions were picked to spread out the benefits — and to avoid competition with existing tribal casinos.

Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro wants to see two casinos in the region: a large destination resort complex in the Catskills and a smaller facility in Orange County.

"You're seeing casinos fail in areas where they're saturated," he said. "We think this region can support two."

Gamblers are increasingly choosing smaller casinos closer to home, and the reshuffling of the market is causing chaos for the industry. Atlantic City lost four of its 12 casinos this year, and behemoths like Connecticut's Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods have seen slumps — even as other states have gotten into the market.

Several developers have warned that a casino in Orange County, with its proximity to New York City, would make it almost impossible for a casino to work in Ulster or Sullivan.

Two groups looking to open casinos in Sullivan cited potential competition in Orange when they dropped out of the running, and the backers of the proposed Nevele Resort, Casino and Spa have said they won't be able to move forward if an Orange County project is also selected.

Mitch Etess, CEO of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, agrees, though he said two casinos in Sullivan County could co-exist — and even benefit each other by creating a synergy that attracts tourists. He said he believes four upstate casinos can succeed.

"The way they've done it — spreading the licenses out around the state — can work," he said.

With millions of dollars riding on the outcome, developers said they're focusing on doing what they can to secure a license and leaving the difficult decision to the regulators.

"We're not the facility location board. The only thing we can do is put our project in the best light and present it as best we can," said Charles Degliomini, spokesman for the proposed Montreign Resort Casino in Sullivan County. "Whether they put two in our region is out of our hands."


Islamic State video: Abdul-Rahman (formerly Peter) Kassig, US aid worker, beheaded

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An Islamic State group video released Sunday purports to show extremists beheading a dozen Syrian soldiers and ends with a militant claiming to have killed U.S. aid worker Peter Kassig, the latest slaughter proudly broadcast by the group on the Internet.

BEIRUT -- An Islamic State group video released Sunday purports to show extremists beheading a dozen Syrian soldiers and ends with a militant claiming to have killed U.S. aid worker Peter Kassig, the latest slaughter proudly broadcast by the group on the Internet.

The video ends with the militant standing over a severed head he says belongs to Kassig. U.S. officials said they were working to determine the video's authenticity. Kassig's family said it was awaiting the outcome of the investigation.

"We prefer our son is written about and remembered for his important work and the love he shared with friends and family, not in the manner the hostage takers would use to manipulate Americans and further their cause," the family said in a statement.

The Associated Press could not independently verify the footage, though it appeared on websites used in the past by the Islamic State group, which now controls a third of Syria and Iraq.

The video identifies the militants' location as Dabiq, a town in northern Syria that the militant group uses as the title of its English-language propaganda magazine and where they believe an apocalyptic battle between Muslims and their enemies will occur.

The high-definition video shows the beheadings of about a dozen men identified as Syrian military officers and pilots, all dressed in blue jumpsuits. The main militant in the video who speaks to the camera has a British accent and warns that U.S. soldiers will meet a similar fate.

"We say to you, Obama: ... You claim to have withdrawn from Iraq four years ago," the militant said. "Here you are: You have not withdrawn. Rather, you hid some of your forces behind your proxies." A U.S.-led coalition is targeting the Islamic State group in airstrikes, supporting Western-backed Syrian rebels, Kurdish fighters and the Iraqi military.

The militant's voice is distorted in the video. Previous videos featured a militant with a British accent that the FBI says it has identified, though it hasn't named him publicly.

Later, the militant claims Kassig, 26, was killed because he "fought against the Muslims in Iraq while serving as a soldier." Kassig, from Indianapolis, Indiana, served in the U.S. Army's 75th Ranger Regiment, a special operations unit, and deployed to Iraq in 2007.

After being medically discharged, Kassig formed the aid organization Special Emergency Response and Assistance, or SERA, in Turkey to aid Syrian refugees. He delivered food and medical supplies and provided trauma care to wounded Syrian civilians before being captured in eastern Syria last year. Friends say he converted to Islam in captivity and took the first name Abdul-Rahman.

Burhan Agha, a Syrian friend who worked with Kassig in Lebanon and who moved to Switzerland seeking asylum, wept when recounting his generosity Sunday.

"If I could apologize to each American, one by one, I would, because Peter died in Syria, while he was helping the Syrian people," Agha told the AP by telephone. "Those who killed him claimed to have done it in the name of Islam. I am a Muslim and am from Syria. ... (His killers) are not Muslims."

The White House said the U.S. intelligence community was examining the video. National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said that if the video is authentic, the White House would be "appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American." British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "horrified by the cold-blooded murder," saying that the Islamic State group has "again shown their depravity."

Previous videos have shown the beheading of two American journalists and two British aid workers. The latest video did not show the person identified as Kassig being beheaded. Unlike previous videos, it did not show other Western captives or directly threaten to behead anyone else. It also had lingering close-ups on some miltiants' exposed faces, with a few appearing to be foreigners.

The Islamic State group holds British photojournalist John Cantlie, who has appeared in several videos delivering statements for the group, likely under duress. They also hold a 26-year-old American woman captured last year in Syria while working for aid groups. U.S. officials have asked that the woman not be identified out of fears for her safety.

The Islamic State group has beheaded and shot dead hundreds of captives -- mainly Syrian and Iraqi soldiers -- during its sweep across the two countries, and has celebrated its mass killings in extremely graphic videos.

The group has declared a self-styled Islamic caliphate in the areas under its control, which it governs according to its violent interpretation of Shariah law.

On Sunday, the Islamic State group claimed a bombing at the Baghdad International Airport that wounded five people, saying it was trying to strike Americans there. No one was wounded in a passing United Nations convoy, the organization said.

The Islamic State group has its roots in al-Qaida's Iraqi affiliate but was expelled from the global terror network over its brutal tactics and refusal to obey orders to confine its activities to Iraq. It became even more extreme amid the bloody civil war in neighboring Syria and grew strong enough to launch a lightning offensive across Iraq.

Syria's war began as an uprising against President Bashar Assad. Activists say that conflict has killed more than 200,000 people.

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