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Watch: Amazing NASA solar flare video of 'Holiday Lights on the Sun'

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NASA this week released a video of the "significant" solar flare that the sun emitted on Friday night.

NASA this week released a video of the "significant" solar flare that the sun emitted on Friday night.

The video shows amazing images of the flare from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, a semi-autonomous spacecraft which watches the sun constantly. The flare peaked on Friday at 7:28 p.m. EST.

What's a solar flare? According to NASA:

A solar flare is an intense burst of radiation coming from the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots. Flares are our solar system's largest explosive events. They are seen as bright areas on the sun and they can last from minutes to hours. We typically see a solar flare by the photons (or light) it releases, at most every wavelength of the spectrum. The primary ways we monitor flares are in x-rays and optical light. Flares are also sites where particles (electrons, protons, and heavier particles) are accelerated.

The Dec. 19 flare was classified as an X1.8-class flare. An X-class flare is the most intense type of solar flare. The number that follows provides more information about the flare's strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc.

More information about the sun:

NASA's solar events »

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory »

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center »



Massachusetts pays $1.2 million in attorneys' fees in abortion clinic buffer zone case

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The fees represent payment for seven years of litigation leading to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Massachusetts' law establishing a buffer zone around abortion clinic entrances.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has paid $1.2 million in attorneys' fees to the lawyers representing protesters who won a U.S. Supreme Court case challenging the state's abortion clinic buffer zone law.

Emalie Gainey, a spokeswoman for Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, said the state was required by federal law to pay the attorneys' fees since the plaintiffs won on a constitutional claim. "The fees paid represent seven years of litigation, during which the Commonwealth prevailed at each step, until the Supreme Court overturned the District Court and First Circuit decisions," Gainey said. 

The U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned Massachusetts' law establishing a 35-foot buffer zone around abortion clinic entrances, finding unanimously that the law violated constitutional rights to free speech.

The law was passed in 2007. It was upheld by the U.S. District Court and the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals before it was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Lead plaintiff Eleanor McCullen said the attorneys had not been paid until now. "The lawyers worked so hard pro bono because they're passionate about the unborn and passionate about First Amendment rights," McCullen said. "They would do it with or without pay, but we did win the case nine-zero, and that's what you do. If you lose, you pay."

The law affected Planned Parenthood abortion clinics in Boston, Worcester and Springfield. The amount of the fees was agreed upon in a settlement between the state alongside the district attorneys for Hampden, Worcester and Suffolk counties and the plaintiffs. It was approved by a judge on Dec. 15.

The settlement was not made public as part of the court documents. The only financial information included in the court file is a $7,000 bill from the plaintiffs' lawyers for court-related costs. The amount of the attorneys' fees was first reported by Cornerstone Action, a conservative advocacy group in New Hampshire that is opposing that state's buffer zone law. It was confirmed to The Republican / MassLive.com by Gainey and McCullen.

Michael Coyne, dean of the Massachusetts School of Law, who is not involved in the case, said these types of attorneys' fees are not uncommon. Federal law requires the losing party in a civil rights case to pay attorneys' fees.

"The case was litigated through the District Court, the Appeals Court, ultimately the Supreme Court. It's not surprising you're going to see a large number," Coyne said. "Litigation becomes very time-consuming and expensive."

There were three plaintiffs' attorneys listed on the Supreme Court briefs – Mark Rienzi of the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America, Philip Moran of Salem, Massachusetts, and Michael DePrimo of Hamden, Connecticut. The attorneys' fees also typically cover all the lawyers who litigated the case at the District and Appeals courts. Three attorneys from the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund along with Moran and DePrimo were listed on the original court complaint before the U.S. District Court.

Marty Walz, president of the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts, who was also one of the lead sponsors of the 2007 law in the Legislature, said, "The safety of our patients and staff are Planned Parenthood's top priority. We are grateful to Martha Coakley for her strong defense of the state's buffer zone law, and we look forward to Governor-elect (Charlie) Baker making sure the state remains a national leader in protecting women's safe access to health care."

After the Supreme Court struck down the law, the state Legislature passed a new law aimed at providing women with safe access to abortion clinics, by forbidding protesters from impeding access to a clinic.

The settlement was agreed on the month before Coakley leaves office. Her successor, Maura Healey, a former bureau chief in Coakley's office, was also involved in crafting the buffer zone law and defending it in court.

Longmeadow police need public to help ID shoplifter caught on camera stealing merchandise from Longmeadow Shops

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The woman left The Gap store without paying for an armful of merchandise valued at more than $500, Longmeadow Police Capt. John Stankiewicz said.

LONGMEADOW — Police need the public's help identifying a woman caught on camera stealing clothing from a store at the Longmeadow Shops on Tuesday.

The theft happened about 8:30 p.m. at The GAP at 690 Bliss Road, Longmeadow Police Capt. John Stankiewicz said.

The woman hastily walked through the aisles, snatching up various items of clothing. She then left without paying for an armful of merchandise valued at more than $500, according to police.

She was seen entering a brown Nissan sedan with Texas license plates that drove west on Bliss Road, police said.

The suspect's described as a 5-foot-tall black woman in her early to mid-20s, with a thin to medium build. She was wearing a black winter coat with a fur-lined hood, pink sweatpants and UGG-style boots.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the Longmeadow Police Department at 567-3311.

74,000 people choose health plans through state Health Connector in time to get Jan. 1 coverage

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Of those, 40,000 people actually paid their first month's premium, which means they are enrolled in coverage as of Jan. 1.

BOSTON - More than 74,000 people selected health insurance plans through Massachusetts' health insurance exchange by Tuesday night's deadline, in an experience vastly different from the technological disaster in 2013.

Of those, 40,000 people actually paid their first month's premium, which means they are enrolled in coverage as of Jan. 1.

Maydad Cohen, special assistant to Gov. Deval Patrick overseeing the Health Connector website, said the number of people who paid for plans "is an excellent sign of the need and desire for health care, and the fact that we were able to provide that to folks was good news."

Those who have picked a plan but not yet paid will have until Sunday to pay for their first month's premium in order to have coverage Jan. 1. The state extended the payment deadline on Tuesday.

Those who do not pay for a plan by then can still use the Health Connector to enroll in coverage for Feb. 1 or March 1, since the open enrollment period continues through Feb. 15. The deadline was mostly important for those individuals who are in insurance plans now that expire at the end of the year.

The 74,000 includes people who are purchasing care either with or without subsidies (the breakdown was not immediately available) through the health insurance exchange. Another 124,000 people have enrolled in MassHealth, the state's Medicaid program.

Despite the more than 700 people answering phones at Health Connector call centers, state data shows that the average time for a call to be answered on Monday and Tuesday was 45 to 49 minutes, and around half of callers hung up before they could be helped.

However, despite the glitches, this year's open enrollment has gone far better than last year's. Last year, the state website was unable to even determine what insurance program or subsidy a person was eligible for, so the state had to extend people's existing subsidized plans and put new enrollees in temporary Medicaid for a year while it recreated the website with a new technology vendor. Approximately 175,000 to 225,000 people in those temporary or extended plans must enroll in new plans this year that conform with the Affordable Care Act.

Not Bread Alone in Amherst preparing 2 holiday meals back-to-back

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Not Bread Alone was expecting to serve between 40 and 65 on Christmas Day in Amherst.

AMHERST - More than a dozen volunteers were chopping, washing and slicing in the kitchen at the First Congregational Church Wednesday afternoon preparing for back-to-back meals at Not Bread Alone meal program.

The kitchen prepares meals typically Wednesday evenings, Saturday and Sundays but also on Christmas and Thanksgiving. So while some were preparing to serve a Wednesday night meal, many others were focusing on Christmas.

Program Director Bob Stover said they had more than enough volunteers for the two meals and thought they had enough food.

He said he wasn't expecting a large crowd on Christmas Eve, still about a dozen had gathered 90 minutes before the meal was to be served. They were planning on a lighter than usual fare with a quiche offering on the menu.

chow.JPGSthela Sibley-Welch, sits on top of her cousing Eric Sibley's shoulders to help decorate the dining room for the Not Bread Alone Christmas Even meal. She is from South Hadley and he is visiting from Texas. They were among 13 from the family helping at the kitchen. 

Christmas was featuring a traditional roasted turkey, but a curried turkey as well thanks to Tulip Chowdhury. The native of Bangladesh was washing the turkey and was planning to add the spices and marinate it in yogurt overnight so it would be ready to cook Thursday morning.

Chowdhury moved to town to live with her son and daughter-in-law here and has been volunteering at the kitchen. "Cooking is a must for mothers," she said. She has always cooked for her family.

She likes doing "anything that will make people smile a little bit," and a nice meal will do it.

Stover said they were also serving the traditional turkey, roasted ham, stuffing, Brussels sprouts and a fruit crisp. He was hoping people were also bringing pies. He was expecting between 40 and 65.

Thirteen members of the Sibley family were decorating and helping in anyway they could Wednesday afternoon.  The family is based in South Hadley but members of the clan were visiting from Texas and Minnesota and were all helping.

Alina Sibley from South Hadley said she wanted the family "to get together and do something meaningful." She said they called around to a number of places and their services were needed here. She said it also had special meaning because her parents met at the First Congregational Church 60 years ago.

Stover said they were still looking for people to bring presents on Christmas. They had collected a few toys and were packaging bags of candy and oranges.

And people could bring pies. The meal open to anyone will be served Thursday at 2 p.m. at the church. 

PM News Links: Homeless man rescues woman from river, good Samaritan stops purse snatcher, and more

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When Vermont State Police K9 Quincy began to experience nosebleeds this month, his handler Trooper David Roos took him to the veterinarian, expecting a diagnosis such as a severe sinus infection. But the diagnosis was terminal cancer.

A digest of news stories from around New England.



  • Homeless man who rescued woman from New Hampshire river doesn't consider self hero [Union Leader]

  • Good Samaritan stops purse snatcher inside New Hampshire Walmart [WCVB-TV, NewsCenter5, Needham]

  • Vermont State Police K9, diagnosed with terminal cancer, gets treatments thanks to fund that benefits police dogs [Burlington Free Press]

  • Police deliver refrigerator, other gifts, to needy Westboro family [Telegram & Gazette]

  • 160 air workers failed alcohol screening tests in 2012, newspaper review finds [Boston Herald]



  • Items from closed Roman Catholic churches in Berkshires allow Mississippi parishioners to rebuild [Berkshire Eagle]

  • Bourne ice cream shop owner gave teenage employees alcohol, money as reward for vandalizing competing parlor, police say [Cape Cod Times]

  • Methuen man, Haverhill woman charged in connection with sexual assault of disabled woman [CBS Boston.com]

  • Uber driver charged with raping passenger held without bail [Boston Globe] Related video below



  • Do you have news or a news tip to submit to MassLive.com for consideration? Send an email to online@repub.com.



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    Army National Guard soldiers return to Ware for Christmas after Cuban deployment

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    The soldiers are from a wide variety of communities in Western and Central Massachusetts. Watch video

    WARE — They were supposed to be home in January after serving a 10-month deployment to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but instead 130 Army National Guard members and their families received a holiday surprise Wednesday.

    "I can't think of a better present than this one. This is a beautiful surprise," said Kelly Field, whose husband, Capt. Tyler Field of Bridgewater, commanded the 747th Military police company and the 211 Military Police Detachment during the mission.

    "This is the best Christmas present ever," said Jane Grigg, of Framingham, who has five sons in the military and welcomed home her youngest, newly minted Sgt. Joshua Grigg, for Christmas.

    Collectively her sons, who serve in the Army National Guard and the Marines, have been deployed at least eight times and each return is special, she said.

    Grigg, who has also served in Afghanistan and Qatar, made his return extra special by calling his mother on her Dec. 19 birthday to tell her he would be home for Christmas.

    "It was different from the other two but I learned a lot," Grigg said about his deployment in Cuba.

    The unit's job was essentially supervision detention operations. He said the soldiers worked long shifts but had no major problems.

    The group of 130 men and women are from more than 75 cities and towns, mainly in Central and Western Massachusetts, including Chicopee, Ludlow, Springfield, West Springfield, Westfield and East Longmeadow. They left for training in February and spent about nine months in Cuba. About two weeks ago they left Guantanamo Bay for Texas, where they went through a variety of demobilization exercises. Members said the exercises were fast-tracked and they flew into Westover Metropolitan Airport in Chicopee and then bused to Ware High School to meet their families at about 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

    "He left a family of three and came back to a family of four," said Marci Morris, of Wilbraham, whose husband Staff Sgt. Kevin Morris returned. "We are so excited. He missed out on a lot."

    What he missed included the birth of their son Kellen, now 6 months old. Morris was able to come home for a short time after his birth, but he teared up when his wife handed him their youngest son and he saw how big he grew.

    Equally exciting was his chance to see his daughter Maeghan, who just turned 3 and is excited about Christmas and Santa for the first time. She laughed and said "Daddy's home" when he lifted her into his arms.

    "I'm just happy to be home," he said.

    Ryan Collette, of Ludlow, a member of the National Guard for six years, was promoted to sergeant while in Cuba. Now that he is home, he said he plans to focus on starting a new career in law enforcement, like many of his family members.

    "It was a great experience. I'm proud to work with the 747th," he said.

    The unit's main job was as correctional officers guarding the prison. They did not leave Guantanamo Bay and were gone before President Obama announced a a historic overhaul of Cuba policy including the embargo against the country.

    The unit worked with military police from a variety of other Army units and a few Navy sailors. He said they all successfully joined together to do the job needed.

    "Honestly, we in Cuba for nine months and it feels like I just got off the plane," he said.

    Field and 1st Sgt. William Dufault, of Worcester, called the mission a success.

    "We were under the public a lot and they did a great job," Dufault said.

    Before the group was dismissed to be with their families, Maj. Gen. L. Scott Rice, the state's adjutant general for the National Guard, awarded them with a plaque and thanked them for a job well done.

    "I want to say thank you for your sacrifice. Merry Christmas and happy holidays," he said.

    The one difficulty, families said, was communications were poor so they had little contact with the soldiers. Linda Collette said she was able to talk to her Ryan Collette just twice. Her son sent his only sister, Katelyn Belliveau, a 20-second video on the day of her wedding and it took a half-day to download.

    Missing the wedding was difficult, but his early arrival made up for it. "Best Christmas ever," Collette said.

    This was the second deployment for Sgt. First Class Jesus Vazquez, of Charlton, who served in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012. While the mission was very different, the unit prepared in the same way.

    He said he was especially happy to make it home for Christmas for his son Castiel, 5, daughter Serenity, 1, and wife Jessica.

    "It has been especially hard on my son. This is the second time I've left him," he said.


    Where and when you can see 'The Interview' in Western Massachusetts, Connecticut

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    A handful of theaters in Western Massachusetts plan to start showing the movie next week.

    If you've been following all the controversy about the Seth Rogen comedy, "The Interview," you undoubtedly know that it's back on for a limited release in some area theaters Christmas Day.

    The Entertainment Cinemas chain, which has theaters in Springfield, Leominister and Cape Cod, among other places, is one of the few theaters that will be screening the film in Western Masschusetts at their 16-screen complex in the Springfield Plaza. Catch is it isn't scheduled to open until Jan. 2.

    According to the website, deadline.com, cinemas have until 6 p.m. today to decide whether to run the film tomorrow. So this list of theaters may change somewhat in the next few hours.

    If you're hell bent to see the flick on Christmas Day, the closest theaters listed as of Wednesday afternoon were in Connecticut, at the Spotlight Theatres on Front Street in Hartford, and at the Apple Cinemas in Waterbury.

    Back in Western Massachusetts, the Greenfield Garden Cinemas, will also screening the film, but not until Jan. 2.

    In Central Massachusetts, there are a handful of theaters that plan to show the movie starting Jan. 2. Theaters include Cinema World in Fitchburg, the Gardner Cinemas in Gardner, and the Cinema 10 in Leominster.

    In Eastern Masschusetts, the film can be seen at the Apple Cinemas in Cambridge and Hollywood Hits Theatre in Danvers on Christmas Day.

    The Route One Cinema Pub in North Attleboro will have showings beginning the day after Christmas. The Somerville Theatre in Davis Square is planning on showing the film in January.

    "The Interview" became available for rental on a variety of digital platforms Wednesday afternoon, including Google Play, YouTube Movies, Microsoft's Xbox Video and a separate Sony website, Sony Pictures announced. The wide digital release is the culmination of a set of deals that have been in the works since the major theater chains dropped the movie last week.

    "It has always been Sony's intention to have a national platform on which to release this film," said Sony Pictures chair and CEO Michael Lynton in a prepared statement. "We chose the path of digital distribution first so as to reach as many people as possible on opening day, and we continue to seek other partners and platforms to further expand the release."

    Sony Pictures announced the released of the movie as a counterstroke against the hackers who spoiled the original planned release of the comedy depicting the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.


    Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.


    Massachusetts State Police charge Methuen man with multiple counts of raping woman with disabilities

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    John E. Leone Jr., 65, of Methuen, was charged with three counts of rape and four counts of indecent assault and battery on a person with a disability, police said.

    A 65-year-old Methuen man was arrested Tuesday on multiple counts of raping and assaulting a woman with disabilities, according to Massachusetts State Police officials in Framingham.

    Troopers assigned to the state's Disabled Persons Protection Commission charged John E. Leone Jr. with three counts of rape and four counts of indecent assault and battery on a person with a disability, police said.

    The victim is an adult woman. Police declined to say where the crimes allegedly occurred and other details to protect the woman's identity.

    Investigators additionally charged the victim's 54-year-old caretaker with assault and battery on a disabled person. Nancy Barr, of Haverhill, is accused of allowing the assaults to happen, police said.

    The rape allegations were reported to the Disabled Persons Protection Commission, which launched an investigation.

    Leone and Barr were arrested Tuesday by Troopers Jodi Gerardi and David Coker. The suspects were arraigned Wednesday in Essex District Court, where a judge ordered them to be held without bail until a Jan. 2 dangerousness hearing.

    The case is being prosecuted by Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett's office.




    US stocks make small gains in abbreviated Christmas Eve trading session

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    Investors welcomed Labor Department data showing that applications for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in seven weeks.

    By ALEX VEIGA

    NEW YORK - Major U.S. stock indexes ended mostly higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average adding modestly to its gains a day after closing above 18,000 for the first time.

    It was the Dow's sixth straight gain, coming during a half-day trading session ahead of the Christmas holiday.

    Investors welcomed Labor Department data showing that applications for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in seven weeks. The news came a day after the Commerce Department estimated that the economy grew in the July-September quarter at the fastest pace in 11 years.

    The unemployment data show steady improvement in the labor market, which is positive news for the economy.

    "We're still giddy after yesterday's GDP (report)," said Chris Gaffney, a senior market strategist at EverBank Wealth Management. "That's what's mainly driving this market."

    The Dow gained 6.04 points Wednesday to close at 18,030.21. That's up 0.03 percent from a day earlier.

    The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 0.29 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,081.88. That's slightly below the S&P's most-recent all-time high recorded on Tuesday.

    The Nasdaq composite added 8.05 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,773.47.

    U.S. government bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dipped to 2.26 percent.

    The Dow and S&P 500 have recovered the last of the ground they lost in an early-December slump.

    The stock market got off to a positive start early Wednesday following the labor market report and held onto to its gains throughout much of the abbreviated trading session. Shortly before the stock market closed at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the S&P 500 turned lower.

    The stock market has been mostly trending higher the last two weeks after hitting a recent low of 17,069 on Dec. 16 as traders worried about plunging oil prices and a sharp drop in Russia's currency.

    Investors have been encouraged by corporate earnings growth and signs of a strengthening U.S. economy.

    Consumer spending and personal income have been rising. The economy also has been creating more jobs. In the first 11 months of this year, employers have added 2.65 million jobs. That already makes 2014 the best year for hiring since 1999.

    In addition, remarks last week by the Federal Reserve reassured investors that the central bank won't raise interest rates soon.

    With just one week left until 2015, the S&P 500 is up 12.6 percent this year, not including dividends, while the Dow is up 8.8 percent. The Nasdaq is up 14.3 percent.

    "We'll look for more volatility next year, but we still expect a buy-on-the-dips, grind-higher equity market," said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

    Utilities stocks were among the biggest gainers Wednesday. The sector is up 26.4 percent this year. Investors often turn to utilities as a safe haven during periods of market volatility.

    "Possibly, people just want to get a bit more defensive in respect to their gains going into the end of the year," Gaffney said.

    Seven of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 fell, with energy stocks declining the most. The sector has fallen 8.9 percent this year as the slide in oil prices has deepened.

    The price of benchmark U.S. crude oil fell $1.28 to close at $55.84 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell $1.45 to close at $60.24 a barrel in London.

    Oil prices have been a major focus in markets over the past few weeks as they have fallen by about a half since the summer.

    In other futures trading on the NYMEX:

    1. Wholesale gasoline fell 5.8 cents to close at $1.513 a gallon.
    2. Heating oil fell 6.7 cents to close at $1.924 a gallon.
    3. Natural gas fell 14.1 cents to close at $3.030 per 1,000 cubic feet.

    In metals trading, gold fell $4.50 to $1,173.50 an ounce, silver fell 6 cents to $15.71 an ounce and copper fell a penny to $2.85 a pound.

    U.S. stock markets reopen on Friday.

    Bay State father builds Haiti orphanage, daughter's last wish

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    Britney Gengel was buried in the 2010 earthquake.

    By TRACEE M. HERBAUGH

    BOSTON - A few hours before she was buried in the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, 19-year-old Britney Gengel texted her parents her last wish: "I want to move here and start an orphanage."

    Nearly five years later, her parents have fulfilled Britney's wish, building a complex in the shape of a "B'' that houses 33 boys and 33 girls -- one of each for the exact number of days her body lay missing beneath the ruins of the hotel where she was staying.

    Britney's last text message dramatically altered her parents' lives.

    After her death, the Gengels started a nonprofit, Be Like Brit, and opened an orphanage in Grand Goave, a town about 30 miles southwest of the country's capital, Port-au-Prince. They now split their time between Holden, Massachusetts, and Haiti; Britney's father, Len, has made the journey to the Caribbean island 66 times.

    "We look at Brit's text as a gift to us, that three hours before the earthquake, she would send that text message and it resonated with us," Len Gengel said in an interview from Haiti. "There's no relief from the poverty here, and we're doing everything we can to help the community in which we live."

    Britney was a sophomore at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, when she went to Haiti to hand out meals to children for Food for the Poor, a Florida-based religious charity.

    The service trip soon turned into a nightmare for Britney and her parents. After the earthquake struck Jan. 12, school officials initially told Len and Cherylann Gengel that Britney was missing. Later, her parents were told she had been rescued and was on a Florida-bound helicopter. Feeling relieved, the Gengels immediately traveled to Fort Lauderdale to reunite with their daughter.

    But once they arrived, the Gengels learned there was a terrible miscommunication. Britney was dead.

    It took 33 days to recover her body from the collapsed Hotel Montana.

    "The biggest challenge is that we have broken hearts," Len Gengel said. "Everyone here has been affected by the earthquake. You don't meet anyone who hasn't lost a loved one. It's helpful to be around people who understand our pain."

    The Haitian government estimates 300,000 were killed and 1.5 million left homeless after the magnitude-7.0 quake. Unstable construction throughout the island country was a major factor in the death toll.

    For Len Gengel, a home builder for 30 years, constructing an orphanage that could withstand another earthquake was his first priority. He worked with an engineering firm to draw up plans for a flexible but sturdy building.

    He recently installed 96 solar panels and wants to make the complex self-sustaining. The orphanage campus includes an acre of fruit trees and vegetation. Gengel's next step is building a cistern and catch basins for water.

    It costs about $75,000 a month to run the orphanage, which is paid for by donations and volunteer mission trips. There are 78 Haitians and two Americans on the orphanage staff.

    People pay the orphanage a set fee of $1,750 a week and receive airfare, housing and meals. There also is a "sponsor a child" program, where people donate $33 a month to assist the orphanage with operation costs. There are currently more than 300 sponsors.

    The Gengels, now retired, donate all their time and efforts to the orphanage and foundation. Cherylann runs the U.S. operations of Be Like Brit.

    "As an American, I came to Haiti thinking I was going to help Haiti," Len Gengel said. "But in actuality, Haiti has helped me."

    Springfield Fire Department: Forest Park apartment complex evacuated after pepper spray circulates through ventilation system

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    Public safety officials evacuated an apartment complex in the Forest Park neighborhood on Christmas eve after someone shot off a canister of pepper spray, causing noxious fumes to circulate through the building's ventilation system.

    SPRINGFIELD — Public safety officials evacuated an apartment complex in the Forest Park neighborhood on Christmas eve after someone shot off a canister of pepper spray, causing noxious fumes to circulate through the building's ventilation system.

    Police and firefighters responded to the Park Edge Apartments on Porter Lake Drive just before 3 p.m. Wednesday.

    Residents complained of eye and throat irritation, but "nobody was hospitalized," said Deputy Chief Glenn Guyer, of the Springfield Fire Department.

    Peter Pan buses were brought to the scene so tenants could stay warm as officials ventilated the large apartment complex. Other residents got in their vehicles and turned on the ignitions, Guyer said.

    The incident remains under investigation by Springfield police, who are asking anyone with information to call them at 413-787-6302.

    Pepper spray, also known as OC spray, is a chemical compound that irritates the eyes and throat, causing discomfort, tears and even temporary blindness.


    MAP showing approximate location of Park Edge Apartments on Porter Lake Drive:


    CDC Ebola lab: Mistake may have exposed technician to virus

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    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the technician is showing no symptoms of the disease.

    A mistake in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention laboratory in Atlanta may have exposed a technician to the Ebola virus, federal officials announced today.

    The technician will be monitored for signs of infection for three weeks, the New York Times reported. Less than 12 other employees who entered the lab where the mistake occurred evaluated.

    "The error occurred on Monday when a high-security lab at the C.D.C. in Atlanta, working with Ebola virus from the epidemic in West Africa, sent samples that should have been inactivated to another C.D.C. laboratory, which was down the hall, according to the Times. "But the lab sent out the wrong samples, ones that had not been inactivated and that may have contained the live virus. The second lab was not equipped to handle the live virus. The technician who worked with the samples wore gloves and a gown, but no mask, and may have been exposed."

    According to the Washington Post, CDC officials insisted that the public is not at risk. Agency officials said the technician is showing no symptoms, and there was no possible exposure outside the secure laboratory.

    A small amount of material from an Ebola experiment that was transported from one lab to another may have contained the virus, USA Today reported. The material was on a sealed plate but should not have been moved into the second laboratory, the CDC said in a prepared statement.

    The event is under internal investigation by CDC, was reported to Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell, and reporting to the internal and national Select Agent Programs has been initiated.

    "I am troubled by this incident in our Ebola research laboratory in Atlanta," CDC Director Tom Frieden said in a prepared statement. "We are monitoring the health of one technician who could possibly have been exposed and I have directed that there be a full review of every aspect of the incident and that CDC take all necessary measures.

    This is the second problem with a highly infectious agent for the CDC this year, according to NBC News. In June, more than 80 employees at a Centers for Disease Control laboratory were exposed to airborne anthrax bacteria.

    And in July, the Food and Drug Administration said that six vials of potentially deadly smallpox virus were discovered in an unused corner of a storage room at a laboratory in Maryland.

    CBS 3 Springfield report on suprise return of soliders from Cuba

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    Some 130 soldiers returned after being stationed at Guantanamo Bay for 10 months.

    Connecticut State Police investigating Route 8 shooting that hospitalized man with neck wound

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    A vehicle came under fire on Route 8 north of Bridgeport early on the morning of Christmas Eve, according to Connecticut authorities, who continue to investigate.

    BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Authorities are investigating a shooting that injured a man on Route 8 north of Bridgeport early Wednesday morning, according to Connecticut State Police Lt. J. Paul Vance.

    Troopers received a 1:15 a.m. call from a driver who was northbound on Route 8 in the Shelton area, just north of Bridgeport, when multiple gunshots were fired from a Buick sedan.

    One shot grazed the neck of a passenger in the driver's car, police said. The injured man was taken by ambulance to Bridgeport Hospital, where he was treated and later released, Vance said.

    Police have not released a possible motive for the shooting, which remains under investigation.

    There were no reported arrests as of Christmas Eve. Police are asking anyone with information about the case to call 203-393-4200. All calls are confidential.



    Springfield prostitution sweep nabs half-dozen alleged hookers – including woman who was alive when Harry Truman occupied White House

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    At the age of 67, Frances Stewart, a resident of the city's Forest Park neighborhood, was by far the oldest of six women charged with "sexual conduct for a fee" in connection with a Springfield prostitution sweep.

    SPRINGFIELD — A prostitution sweep by Springfield police nabbed half a dozen alleged hookers, including one woman who was alive when Harry Truman was president.

    At the age of 67, Frances Stewart, a resident of the city's Forest Park neighborhood, was by far the oldest of six women charged with "sexual conduct for a fee" last week.

    The Dec. 17 arrests were made along well-known streetwalker beats, including stretches of Main, Maple, School and Union streets in the city's Metro Center, Six Corners and South End neighborhoods.

    The next oldest in the bunch was 58-year-old Vivian Lynn Akins, of 19 Avon Place, Springfield.

    Other city residents charged with prostitution included:


    • 40-year-old Renee Funk, of 128 Mill St., who's been arrested for the same offense in the past.

    • 33-year-old Billie Starlett Clark of 182 Quincy St.

    • and 32-year-old Katrina Jefferson of 156 Kensington Ave.

    The only out-of-towner caught in the sweep was 35-year-old Delilah Maldonado, of 11 Globe St., West Springfield.

    The suspects propositioned undercover male officers over a three-hour period, a Springfield Police Department spokesman told CBS 3 Springfield, media partner of MassLive / The Republican.

    All of the women were expected to be arraigned in Springfield District Court.


    Boston officer forgives man who tried to kill him

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    Paul Eric Louis-Jeune, of Braintree, was sentenced to up to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to charges including armed assault with intent to murder.

    BOSTON - A Boston police officer who says he felt the heat and heard the whistle of a bullet fired by a fleeing suspect as it narrowly missed his head offered forgiveness to his assailant in court.

    The officer, whose name was not made public, said in a statement read in Suffolk Superior Court on Tuesday, that "I'm willing to personally forgive," the man who tried to kill him in July 2013.

    The shooter, 23-year-old Paul Eric Louis-Jeune, of Braintree, was sentenced to up to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to charges including armed assault with intent to murder.

    Police were chasing the suspected drug dealer when Louis-Jeune shot at a pursuing officer from 10 feet away. Louis-Jeune was then struck by a bullet fired by another officer.

     

    Gov.-Elect Charlie Baker, Cardinal Sean O'Malley help serve food to homeless at Pine Street Inn

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    Homelessness in Massachusetts remains a serious problem that the Baker administration will have to confront when it takes office in January.

    BOSTON - Gov.-elect Charlie Baker chatted about basketball with Rafael Puntier as Baker handed out plates of food at the Pine Street Inn.

    Asked whether he has family in Boston, Puntier, 46, looked around the table at his fellow homeless shelter residents. "These guys are my family, and the people who help me," Puntier said. Puntier said he feels "blessed" to have good caseworkers and therapists.

    Puntier's Christmas wish is to move on. He has been in shelters for more than two years. He moved to Boston from New York to work at a restaurant, which went bankrupt, and he cannot find another job. "I wish I could get an apartment," Puntier said. "It's tough. ... At the end of the year, you say I've done another year here. I don't want to do another year here."

    As families around the commonwealth wrap Christmas presents and put their last decorations on the tree, more than 150 volunteers gathered on Wednesday to prepare and serve lunch to more than 1,300 people at the Pine Street Inn, which providers shelter, supportive housing, street outreach and job training to homeless Massachusetts residents. The volunteers were joined by Baker, Lt. Gov.-elect Karyn Polito, wearing a Santa hat, and Cardinal Sean O'Malley, the archbishop of Boston.

    "Christmastime, the message has to be one of hope and one of peace, but at the same time recognizing that many of our brothers and sisters, like Mary and Joseph on the first Christmas, are homeless," O'Malley said. "Of course, people talk about economic recovery, but the working class people are not the beneficiaries of that recovery."

    An October 2014 report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found that there were 21,000 homeless people in Massachusetts, almost all of them living in emergency shelters or transitional housing. Massachusetts law guarantees shelter to anyone who needs it. Since 2007, homelessness in Massachusetts has risen by 40 percent, according to the report. Massachusetts has also been spending money housing people in hotels and motels, a practice that can cause problems for the residents and the hotels.

    Pine Street Inn resident Charles Malgioglio, 60, has lived in shelters for four years. He previously worked as an equipment operator for Amtrak. He lost his job because he became disabled. He struggled with alcohol abuse. At the luncheon, he said he was grateful for the Pine Street Inn. "They've fed me, clothed me, housed me. There's not much more you can ask for," he said. But he hopes to soon get an apartment of his own.

    Lyndia Downie, Pine Street Inn's president and executive director, said Boston has had a tough year for homelessness due to the city's closure of the Long Island bridge for safety reasons, which led to the displacement of around 450 homeless residents living in a shelter on the island. "That's impacted all of us," Downie said.

    Downie said since the October bridge closure, Pine Street Inn has seen its numbers increase by 16 percent among men and 24 percent among women, putting its shelters over capacity. "Going forward, we have to keep targeting housing to the people who need it the most, who are the most chronically homeless, and we need to invest in shelter," Downie said.

    As Baker, a Republican, prepares to take office in January, he will have to confront the problem of homelessness. Baker said during his campaign that he wants to get all families out of hotels and motels during his first year in office. Baker said a year ago that he wants to create assessment teams to help each individual family living in a hotel. He would allocate more state money toward a program that pays for utility bills or rent for families who would otherwise be shelter-eligible, and that pays families who house homeless relatives. He advocated for allowing local organizations more flexibility in tailoring services and reforming regulations that now forbid people from doubling up in public housing. Baker said then that he would not necessarily put more money toward homelessness, but would reallocate money more effectively.

    On Wednesday, asked whether he would commit to not cutting programs that help the poor or homeless, Baker said he was not making any commitments until he knows how large a budget gap he is inheriting. But Baker said, "We're going to work pretty hard to make sure we protect programs like this."

    Baker praised the work Pine Street Inn is doing in housing and job training. He plans to use a catering service run by the organization as part of its job training program for his inauguration.

    Baker reiterated his intent to move families out of hotels and motels. He said under Republican Gov. William Weld and Lt. Gov. Paul Cellucci, whom Baker worked for, the administration moved homeless families out of hotels "because we felt it was a human tragedy."

    One of the men who Baker helped serve on Wednesday was Franklin Fogg, 72, who has lived at the Pine Street Inn for over a year. He has cancer and was just released from the hospital before Christmas. His wish for the new year was identical to many others at the shelter. "I'm dying to have my own place," Fogg said.

    UMass science center rceives interior funding to look at climate change on fish and wildlife

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    AMHERST - Scientists at the Northeast Climate Science Center at the University of Massachusetts have received more than $200,000 from the federal government to look at how climate change is affecting coastal fish and wildlife. The funding is part of nearly $690,000 the Department of the Interior has awarded to universities and other partners for research to help managers...

    AMHERST - Scientists at the Northeast Climate Science Center at the University of Massachusetts have received more than $200,000 from the federal government to look at how climate change is affecting coastal fish and wildlife.

    The funding is part of nearly $690,000 the Department of the Interior has awarded to universities and other partners for research to help managers of parks, refuges and other cultural and natural resources in planning how to help species and ecosystems adapt to climate change, according to a press release. 

    In the Northeast region, two studies will involve UMass scientists in collaboration with others. They will receive $217,018 over the next two years for research investigating changes in coastal fish and wildlife due to climate change and to support early career climate science communication and networking.

    Another $140,709 will come to the campus for a communications plan that is not part of the interior funding, according to the press release.

    Michelle Staudinger and Adrian Jordaan of the environmental conservation department at UMass will look at how climate change may be affecting the timing of such recurring life events such as migration and reproduction.

    Staudinger and Ezra Markowitz will lead the early career climate science communication project that will help develop a platform to train new scientists and resource managers and increase information-sharing between the eight science centers and their institutions working on the projects. 

    Santa rides with Holyoke Police, hands out thousands of gifts

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    The Holyoke Police Narcotics Division has been handing out gifts to children in the city for 25 years. Watch video


    HOLYOKE— With his police K-9 June by his side Holyoke Police Detective Anthony Brach looks on as hundreds of children line up to receive toys from Santa.

    "We spend a lot of time in these neighborhoods and it's not always under the best circumstances. It feels really good to be able to come out here and provide gifts to children who really need it. For some of these kids this is the only gift they will get," he said.

    For more than 25 years on Christmas morning the Holyoke Police Narcotics Division has been handing out gifts to children in various shelters and impoverished neighborhoods in the city. Children line up outside in their pajamas and slippers and get toys from Santa (retired police officer Dennis Egan) and his little elves (the detectives children).

    Julia Pratt, 13, Tessa Moriarty, 13 and Morgan Reardon, 13, have been volunteering to hand out the toys for several years. It can get stressful as the volunteers sort out toys for the hundreds of families that line up, but the girls seem to enjoy it.

    "I think it's important to give back to the community," Pratt said.

    Moriarty said it's a way to see how other people who are less fortunate live.

    "It makes you thankful for everything you have," she said.

    Reardon said her family generally exchanges tons of gifts making this event very special to her.

    "For some of these kids they just look so excited to get a toy, it's a great feeling,"she said.

    Toy stops included the Holyoke Hotel where about 300 children received gifts, the Oak Street shelter and neighborhoods on the corner of Hampshire and Walnut streets and South Holyoke.

     

    Brach said this year there were plenty of donations so most children were able to get more than one gift.

    "We had very generous donations from Toys for Tots, Project Starfish of the Pioneer Valley and Edaron Inc. in Holyoke as well as everyday citizens," he said.

    At the first stop Carlos Gonzalez Velez, 8, came out in shorts and a thin T-shirt. He is currently living at the Holyoke Shelter on Whiting Farms Road. He asked Santa for a helicopter and a bow and arrow. Instead he got a kit with over 20 Hot Wheels and a mechanical dinosaur. These are the only gifts he got this Christmas and he beamed as he went to show it to his mom.

    "I really like it. Thank you Santa," he said waving to the man in red.

    Jennifer Lee stood outside in line with her 3-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son. The family has fallen on hard times and the presents, she said, are the highlight of the kids day.

    "This makes it a very Merry Christmas. We are so thankful to the Holyoke Police Department for remembering the homeless on Christmas Day," she said.

    At one stop a little girl received toys and went back upstairs. Minutes later she ran down the street in her mother's arms carrying a small sheet of white paper in her hand. It was a note she had just made thanking Santa.

    "We see how appreciative the families are and it makes Christmas Day all the more special," Brach said.

    When police reached the stop on Hampshire and Walnut streets Santa placed a small police puppet on a fence post in honor of fallen Holyoke Police Officer John A. DiNapoli, who was killed 15 years ago at the intersection.

    DiNapoli, 52, was in plain clothes, unarmed and in an unmarked cruiser, out running an errand when he wound up volunteering to respond to a disturbance call at Walnut and Sargeant streets on the morning of Dec. 22, 1999.

    DiNapoli followed one of the men involved in the disturbance who was leaving the scene on foot, police said, and, a block away at Walnut and Hampshire streets he was shot dead in his vehicle.

    "It's important for us to always remember him and to honor him today," Brach said. He said the toy generally remains undisturbed. "People in the community respect the tradition."

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