Outgoing Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray says she is launching a private nonprofit organization for international promotion of Massachusetts businesses after she leaves office this week.

BOSTON — Outgoing Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray says she is launching a private nonprofit organization for international promotion of Massachusetts businesses after she leaves office this week.

Murray said Sunday her organization Mass-Ignite — or Massachusetts International Growth Network for Innovation, Trade and the Economy — will provide a local platform for international partnerships, research and development and market expansion.

Murray said she has worked in office to promote the state's emerging business sectors internationally, and hopes to continue those efforts with "deliberate, focused relationship building and diplomacy."

Murray said among the sectors Mass-Ignite will focus on are health care technology, life sciences, medical devices, big data, renewable energy and marine technology. It will provide information-sharing and networking, as well as incubator and startup assistance.

The Plymouth Democrat did not seek re-election. Her term ends Wednesday.

Obituaries from The Republican.

Matthew McBride 

Matthew Joseph McBride, 30, of Southwick passed away on Dec. 28. He was born in Hartford, Connecticut. He relished everything the outdoors offered, with a special love of hunting and fishing. He enjoyed working for McCormick Allum of Springfield.

Congress' approval rating hovers around 15 percent, but there's one group of people excited about the institution: the newly elected lawmakers who are about to join its ranks.

WASHINGTON  -- Congress' approval rating hovers around 15 percent, but there's one group of people excited about the institution: the newly elected lawmakers who are about to join its ranks.

The House will welcome 58 freshmen this coming week, including 43 Republicans and 15 Democrats, pushing the GOP majority to 246 members, the most since the Great Depression.

In the Senate, 13 new lawmakers, all but one of them Republican, will be sworn in, flipping control of the chamber to the GOP with a 54-vote majority.

The incoming classes will bring new gender and racial diversity to Capitol Hill, with 104 women in the House and Senate and close to 100 black, Hispanic and Asian lawmakers. The newcomers include the youngest woman elected to Congress, 30-year-old Elise Stefanik of New York, and the first black Republican woman, Mia Love of Utah.

As the new members prepared to arrive on Capitol Hill, several said they brought hopes of curbing the often partisan atmosphere in Washington, showing the public that they really can govern and, just maybe, getting Congress' approval rating back up past 20 percent.

"This election was not an endorsement of either party, it was a condemnation of, yes, the president's policies, but also of government dysfunction," said GOP Rep.-elect Carlos Curbelo, who defeated a Democratic incumbent in Florida. "I hope we can be different. ... I hope we focus on getting things done."

A few of the notable new arrivals:

THE MILENNIALS

Stefanik, a Republican, is one of several young new faces bringing fresh blood to Capitol Hill, where many lawmakers, especially senators, are in their 70s or even older. Others are Democrats Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, who is 36, and Ruben Gallego of Arizona, who's 35. The three all graduated from Harvard University and have friends in common, Gallego said.

Gallego said the three have already discussed areas of cooperation, such as infrastructure investments and bringing down the cost of college.

"We have talked actually a lot, and I can definitely see us working together," Gallego said. "We all want the same things in the general scheme of things -- a stable country, a prosperous future. We may not agree 100 percent on how to get there but I think Democrats and Republicans do want to find a way."

THE EXPERIENCED HANDS

Two of the newcomers to Congress are not new to Washington at all.

In Michigan, Democrat Debbie Dingell is replacing her husband, John Dingell, the longest-serving member of Congress, who retired after nearly 60 years.

In Virginia, Republican Barbara Comstock is replacing her onetime boss, Frank Wolf, whom she served as a top aide and chief counsel on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee before joining the Virginia House of Delegates.

Dingell and Comstock are friendly and have spoken about how they can collaborate and improve relations and policy making on Capitol Hill.

"People don't get to know each other, and that relationship-building and that sense of trust and knowing each other is part of what's missing," said Dingell, who wrote a master's thesis on civility in Congress. "And we've got to find ways for people to get to know each other and talk."

Comstock, who has started a women's leadership initiative in Virginia, said she, Dingell and other female lawmakers have met together and hope to forge coalitions.

"Debbie has been a great leader on her side and she knows Washington also so I think we will probably team up," Comstock said. Although they're from different parties, "Sometimes people get caught up in the labels. Good ideas are good ideas."

THE NEW REPUBLICAN DIVERSITY

GOP lawmakers in the House and Senate remain overwhelmingly white and male, but some of the new Republican arrivals break that mold.

In addition to Stefanik, a woman, and Curbelo, who is Hispanic, the GOP now claims two black House members, Love and Will Hurd of Texas. There is also one black senator, 10 Hispanic House members and two Hispanic senators. There are 22 Republican women in the House and six in the Senate.

The newcomers could add diversity of ideas to the Republican conference. Curbelo said he would push House GOP leaders to support immigration overhaul legislation, something the party has resisted.

"Of course as a freshman our influence is limited but we can work within our class, our freshman class to build support," Curbelo said.

THE MILITARY VETERANS

A number of the new arrivals have served in the military, something that has become increasingly rare on Capitol Hill.

Moulton and Gallego both served with the Marines in Iraq, while another incoming freshman, Republican Lee Zeldin of New York, served with the Army there.

Republican Rep.-elect Martha McSally of Arizona is a retired Air Force colonel and the first female fighter pilot to fly in combat. She told "Fox News Sunday" that military veterans bring a problem-solving perspective.

"We're very solution-oriented, we're very pragmatic," McSally said Sunday. "You can't be in the war you want to be in, you got to be in the war you're in, and you got to just get the job done."

Pope Francis named 15 new cardinals Sunday, selecting them from 14 nations including far-flung corners of the world such as Tonga, New Zealand, Cape Verde and Myanmar to reflect the diversity of the church and its growth in places like Asia and Africa compared to affluent regions.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis named 15 new cardinals Sunday, selecting them from 14 nations including far-flung corners of the world such as Tonga, New Zealand, Cape Verde and Myanmar to reflect the diversity of the church and its growth in places like Asia and Africa compared to affluent regions.

Other cardinals hail from Ethiopia, Thailand and Vietnam.

None came from the United States and only three European nations received new cardinals -- Portugal and Spain in addition to Italy. Cape Verde, Tonga and Myanmar gained cardinals for the first time.

Francis told faithful in St. Peter's Square that the new batch of cardinals "shows the inseparable tie with the church of Rome to churches in the world."

Five new cardinals come from Europe, three from Asia, three from Latin America, including Mexico, and two each come from Africa and Oceania.

With his picks, the Argentine-born Francis, the first pontiff from Latin America, made ever clearer that he is laying out a new vision of the church's identity, including of its hierarchy. He looked beyond traditional metropolitan area for the "princes of the church" who will help advise him as goes forward with church reforms. Cardinals also elect his successor.

He has said repeatedly that the church must reach out to those on the margins.

The Vatican's chief spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the selection "confirms that the pope doesn't feel tied to the traditional 'cardinal sees,' which reflected historic reasons in various countries."

"Instead we have various nominations of archbishops or bishops of sees in the past that wouldn't have had a cardinal," Lombardi said.

The pontiff ignored another tradition: limiting to 120 the number of cardinals under 80 and eligible to vote for his successor.

Counting the new cardinals, 125 cardinals will eligible to vote, although Lombardi noted, "he kept very close to it (120), so it was substantially respected."

The two nations with the biggest number of eligible electors are Italy, with 26, and the United States with 11.

Notable among Pope Francis' picks are churchmen whose advocacy styles seem to particularly capture matters dear to his heart.

Monsignor Francesco Montenegro, a Sicilian, was at his side when Francis made his first trip a few months into his papacy. Montenegro welcomed the pontiff to Lampedusa, a tiny Sicilian island whose people have helped thousands of migrants stranded by smugglers. The pontiff has repeatedly denounced human trafficking and urged more attention to people on the margins of society. He also has thundered against Mafiosi, and Montenegro's Agrigento diocese includes towns where people have dared to rebel against Cosa Nostra.

The only native English-language speaker chosen by Francis is Archbishop John Atcherley Dew of Wellington, New Zealand. Summing up his own intervention at last year's Vatican conference on controversial family issues, including gay marriage and divorced Catholics, Dew has said the church must change its language to give "hope and encouragement."

The archdiocese of Morelia, Mexico, has its first cardinal: Alberto Suarez Inda. The archbishop, who turns 76 this month, has helped mediate political conflicts and kidnappings in one of Mexico's most violence-plagued states.

Francis also bestowed the honor on five churchmen older than 80, including men from the pope's native Argentina, Mozambique and Colombia.

Speaking from a Vatican window to a crowd in St. Peter's Square, Francis made another surprise announcement. He said that on Feb. 12-13, he will lead of meeting of all cardinals to "reflect on the orientations and proposals for the reform of the Roman Curia," the Vatican's administrative bureaucracy.

Francis is using his papacy, which began in March 2013, to root out corruption, inefficiency, careerism and other problems in the curia.

An Italian group, Noi Siamo Chiesa, which advocates reforms for the church, hailed the choice of the two Italian bishops. Group spokesman Vittorio Bellavite said Francis had gone "outside the traditional logic" of the hierarchy.

Francis said he will "have the joy" on Feb. 14 of presiding over the ceremony in which the 20 churchmen will receive their red hats.

Federal officials have promised nearly $1 billion to the public transportation project.

SOMERVILLE, Mass. -- U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx is planning to visit Massachusetts to formally announce the federal government's commitment to the planned extension of the Green Line MBTA line to Somerville and Medford.

Foxx will participate in a press conference Monday at Somerville High School with Gov. Deval Patrick, Congressman Michael Capuano, and MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott.

Federal officials have promised nearly $1 billion to the public transportation project.

The project calls for the construction of six new stations, the relocation of one existing station, the purchase of 24 new light rail vehicles, and the construction of a new bicycle and pedestrian path in Somerville.

The project is estimated to create 140 design jobs, 700 construction jobs during peak construction years, and 140 ongoing maintenance and operation jobs.

SPRINGFIELD - Clean up after Saturday's wintery storm began Sunday, Jan. 4, 2014. According to Mike Skurko, CBS3 Meteorologist, cold air remained trapped in Western Massachusetts today, keeping temperatures in the 30s. The cold air and calm winds have also created foggy conditions throughout the region. A Dense Fog Advisory is in effect for Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire County.

SPRINGFIELD - Clean up after Saturday's wintery storm began Sunday, Jan. 4, 2014.

According to Mike Skurko, CBS3 Meteorologist, cold air remained trapped in Western Massachusetts today, keeping temperatures in the 30s.

The cold air and calm winds have also created foggy conditions throughout the region. A Dense Fog Advisory is in effect for Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire County.

The federally funded project is being conducted by the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at the Maryland-based Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

With his wife and child close at hand, Army Maj. Chad Wriglesworth battled skin cancer for more than a year before dying at age 37.

"It was long and painful and awful," said Aimee Wriglesworth, who believes the cancer resulted from exposure to toxic fumes in Iraq. Yet the 28-year-old widow from Bristow, Virginia, seized a chance to recount the ordeal and its aftermath to a researcher, hoping that input from her and her 6-year-old daughter might be useful to other grieving military families.

"To be able to study what we felt and what we're going through -- maybe this will help people down the line," Wriglesworth said.

View full sizeIn this Dec. 16, 2014 photo, Army widow, Aimee Wriglesworth, poses for a photo next to a display of some of her late husband's awards and artifacts in her home in Bristow, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)Steve Helber 

By the hundreds, other widows, widowers, parents, siblings and children are sharing accounts of their grief as part of the largest study ever of America's military families as they go through bereavement. About 2,000 people have participated over the past three years, and one-on-one interviews will continue through February.

The federally funded project is being conducted by the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at the Maryland-based Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. The study is open to families of the more than 19,000 service members from all branches of the military who have died on active duty since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, regardless of whether the death resulted from combat, accident, illness, suicide or other causes.

"We've been impressed by how many people who've had this experience really want to let us know about it," said the leader of the study, Dr. Stephen Cozza. "They want to talk about what happened -- to provide information that will help them and people like them in the future."

Aimee Wriglesworth is hopeful that the study will provide new insight on how best to support young families like hers.

"A lot of things that are helping us now come from Vietnam, Korea, World War II," she said of existing assistance programs. "But now it's a whole new world of military losses. Studying us is really important."

View full sizeThis Dec. 16, 2014 photo shows the wedding photo of Army widow, Aimee Wriglesworth, and her late husband, Chad, on display in her home in Bristow, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)Steve Helber 

Cozza said a final report isn't expected until 2017, and he is encouraging more survivors to sign up for interviews before the cutoff date in late February.

"Our interest is understanding what these families need," he said. "Recognizing the need will allow us to make better policy recommendations as to what sort of services would be appropriate for them."

The questionnaires and face-to-face interviews are being handled by eight field researchers based in regions spanning the country.

Jill Harrington, the senior field researcher, said the team members are experienced in dealing with grief and well-versed in military culture.

"For the families of the fallen, whoever they talk to, they want to be able to trust," Harrington said. "We have a highly trained group of folks who know how to listen and how to be patient."

While bereaved military families share much in common with other grieving families, there are distinctive aspects to many military deaths. Whether in combat, or by accident or suicide, they often occur suddenly, and many of the deceased are in their 20s or 30s.

"These are young families -- a lot of single parents raising kids alone," said Harrington. "When someone dies young, there's a loss of the future. How do you live with that loss in your life?"

Some insight on that question will be provided by the roughly 100 children, ages 6 to 18, who are participating in the study. Most are the sons or daughters of deceased service members; a few are younger siblings.

"Many of these children, when their parent died, were very young and didn't know them well," said Cozza. According to preliminary findings, he said, a factor helping them weather the loss was having pride in their departed parent's military service.

The web site for the study encourages bereaved parents to let their children participate, while acknowledging that the one-on-one interviews, lasting 90 minutes to three hours, cover sensitive matters.

"The field researchers are trained to recognize when a child is upset and will periodically ask your child if he/she is okay to continue," the web site says. "If your child becomes upset, he/she can decide to stop the interview at any time."

Among the children taking part is Aimee Wriglesworth's daughter, Savannah, who was 5 when her father died at home on Nov. 20, 2013. Family photos from the preceding days show Savannah cuddling up with him as he lay stricken in bed.

Chad Wriglesworth initially joined the Air Force and was deployed to Iraq in 2008. He transferred to the Army in 2009, and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011.

According to his wife, he began reporting lumps on various parts of his body starting in 2011 and was diagnosed in 2012 with Stage 4 melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer. The military, without being more specific, ruled that the major's death occurred in the line of duty; his wife believes the cancer was caused by his exposure to toxic fumes from open-air "burn pits" in Iraq that were used to destroy waste at U.S. bases.

Another study participant is Ryan Manion Borek, whose brother, Marine Lt. Travis Manion, was killed in combat in Iraq in 2007. Borek now heads a foundation named after her brother, which seeks to assist veterans, as well as families of fallen service members.

Borek expressed hope that the study's findings will reflect the wide range of ways in which survivors respond to the deaths of their loved ones.

"We don't all fit into the same box," she said. "That's the beauty of doing a study like this -- we can begin to understand all the different ways people are dealing with their loss."

A video produced by the research team conveys the breadth of the study, featuring brief interviews with some of the survivors who decided to participate.

They include a Marine Corps officer, Lisa Doring, whose Marine husband died in a helicopter crash near their base in Iraq; a mother whose only son, an Army private, was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan; and a couple whose son, serving in the Coast Guard, committed suicide after what they described as sustained bullying and harassment.

Of all the active-duty deaths in the period being studied, about 13 percent were suicides. Accidents accounted for 35 percent, combat 30 percent, illness 15 percent and homicide 3 percent, according to Cozza.

One of the major partners for the study is the Arlington, Virginia-based support group known as TAPS -- the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. It was founded in 1994 by Bonnie Carroll two years after her husband, a brigadier general, died in an Army plane crash.

Carroll said she was heartened that the study encompassed all types of deaths, even including service members responsible for murder-suicides.

"Regardless of how the person died, at some point in their life they stepped forward to raise their right hand and say 'I will protect this nation,'" Carroll said.

Temperatures could drop to minus six Wednesday night.

Temperatures predicted to reach into the 40s did not happen Sunday because cold air was trapped in the Pioneer Valley.

"It is called cold air damming," said Mike Skurko, meteorologist for CBS3, media partners for The Republican/Masslive. "The cold air got trapped in Western Massachusetts. Other parts of southern and eastern New England made it into the 40s."

The thaw was expected to follow Saturday night's storm that brought multiple accidents on sleet-covered roads.

Temperatures hovered around 33 degrees most of Sunday and are expected to continue to stay just around freezing most of the night. The overnight low for Springfield is 28 degrees, he said.

Motorists should still be cautious. There is a lot of water and slush on the roads which could freeze when temperatures drop slightly. Morning commuters could see some ice on the roads as well, Skurko said.

There will be a long wait for people who were hoping for warmer temperatures. Monday's temperatures will remain in the 30s, but windchills will make it feel no higher than the teens. Then an arctic blast is expected for most of the week.

"The coldest night will be Wednesday night with a low of negative six degrees," he said.

The record low for Jan. 7 is minus seven degrees so record-breaking cold is possible.

The show of disrespect came outside the funeral home where Officer Wenjian Liu was remembered as an incarnation of the American dream.

NEW YORK -- Thousands of police turned their backs Sunday as Mayor Bill de Blasio eulogized an officer shot dead with his partner, repeating a stinging display of scorn for the mayor despite entreaties to put anger aside.

The show of disrespect came outside the funeral home where Officer Wenjian Liu was remembered as an incarnation of the American dream: a man who had emigrated from China at age 12 and devoted himself to helping others in his adopted country. The gesture among officers watching the mayor's speech on a screen added to tensions between the mayor and rank-and-file police even as he sought to quiet them.

"Let us move forward by strengthening the bonds that unite us, and let us work together to attain peace," de Blasio said at the funeral.

Liu, 32, had served as a policeman for seven years and was married just two months when he was killed with his partner, Officer Rafael Ramos, on Dec. 20. Liu's longtime aspiration to become a police officer deepened after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, his father, Wei Tang Liu, said through tears.

And as he finished his daily work, the only child would call to say: "I'm coming home today. You can stop worrying now," the father recalled during a service that blended police tradition with references to Buddha's teachings.

Dignitaries including FBI Director James Comey and members of Congress joined police officers from around the country in a throng of over 10,000 mourners.

"When one of us loses our lives, we have to come together," said Officer Lucas Grant of the Richmond County Sheriff's Office in Augusta, Georgia.

After hundreds of officers turned their backs to a screen where de Blasio's remarks played during Ramos' funeral last week, Police Commissioner William Bratton sent a memo urging respect, declaring "a hero's funeral is about grieving, not grievance."

But some officers and police retirees said they still felt compelled to spurn the mayor. Police union leaders have said he contributed to an environment that allowed the officers' slayings by supporting protests following the police killings of Eric Garner on Staten Island and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

"The mayor has no respect for us. Why should we have respect for him?" said retired New York Police Department Detective Camille Sanfilippo, who was among those who turned their backs Sunday. Retired NYPD Sgt. Laurie Carson called the action "our only way to show our displeasure with the mayor."

The annual Chicopee Colleen Contest will be held Feb. 28.

CHICOPEE - The Chicopee St. Patrick's Parade Committee will kick off the season with an event to honor Joseph Morrissette, winner of this year's E. Jack Woods Award.

The award is given to a member who has served at least 10 years on the committee and has been very dedicated to the parade efforts. The event will be held at 7 p.m., Jan. 8 at the Rumbleseat Bar & Grille, 482 Springfield St. Admission is $25 and the public is invited to attend.

The committee is also planning its annual Colleen Contest, which will be held Feb. 28 at the Castle of Knights on Memorial Drive. More information about the Parade Committee's upcoming events is on the committee website http://www.chicopeespc.com/.

The three suspects are from Springfield

LUDLOW - Police arrested two people suspected of multiple house breaks and spent four hours and three trained dogs trying to track down another man who fled from law enforcement officials.

The incident happened at about 5 p.m. Sunday near East and Chapin streets after an officer stopped a car driven by a man suspected of breaking into homes in multiple communities. The driver and two passengers then fled from the officer, Police Sgt. David Belanger said.

The three, who are all Springfield residents, ran into a nearby house where one worked as a home health aide. They tried to hide in the home, but the officers saw them and knocked on the door.

Police were able to arrest one of the suspects on default warrants when he answered the door at the home. The other two, a man and a woman, escaped through a window and ran into the woods.

"The female was caught right away. We had multiple default warrants for her arrest," Belanger said.

The man however was able to run into a swampy area in the woods. Over a period of four hours police tracked him first using a police dog from Springfield and then a second Ludlow dog and officer who had returned after attending the funeral for New York City Officer Wenjian Liu. When both the dogs were exhausted, a third from the Massachusetts State Police was used to track the man. Ludlow also called in extra officers, Belanger said.

"We were trying to trail this guy but he was one step ahead of us," he said. "He jumped over the fence and ran across the Mass Turnpike once, if not twice."

Police do know the man's name and address and will pursue charges against him in the future, he said.

The other two suspects, whose names were not immediately released, were arrested and are being held on default warrants as police continue to investigate the house breaks, he said.

John Kellum, 42, was taken to a hospital after he was pulled from Malden River and arrested early Sunday.

MELROSE, Mass. -- A suburban Boston resident has been arrested on a fifth-offense drunken driving charge and numerous other offenses after he crashed into a police cruiser and other vehicles, drove his pickup truck into a frigid river and continued to flee on foot in waist-deep water, police said.

John Kellum, 42, of Melrose, Massachusetts.Melrose Police Department 

Police allege Kellum crashed into two parked vehicles in Melrose, rammed into a Melrose police car then drove toward another police car, causing the officer to hit a curb.

Police say Kellum's truck tires went flat but he drove on the rims into the river in Malden then got out and fled.

Kellum faces numerous charges, including operating under the influence of alcohol, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle with a revoked license, assault and batter with a dangerous weapon (a vehicle) and use of a motor vehicle without authority.

Keizer, Oregon police arrested a man they say broke into two houses while naked, and drank booze and used hot tubs.

KEIZER, Ore. (AP) -- Police near Salem, Oregon, say they arrested a naked man after he broke into two homes, drank booze and used a hot tub at one of them.

Officers received a 911 call early Sunday from a woman who was house-sitting in Keizer when she was awakened by noises coming from the laundry room.

As she went to check it out, the laundry room door slammed, so she grabbed a knife and called police and her husband.

Police found the burglar inside, naked, and arrested him without incident. Investigators determined that he climbed in through a back window after removing a screen.

They also noticed that screens had been removed from windows at a neighbor's home. Police say the suspect had burglarized that home, drinking the homeowner's alcohol and using the hot tub and shower.

Some of the 30 charges Dzhokar Tsarnaev faces carry the death penalty.

BOSTON - More than 1,200 people have been called as potential jurors for the Monday start of the federal trial of marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin 20 months after the 21-year-old and his older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev allegedly set off the explosions that killed three people and wounded more than 260 others. The two are also accused of shooting and killing Massachusetts Institute of Technology Police Officer Sean Collier shortly after the bombings
.
Some of the 30 charges Tsarnaev faces carry the death penalty. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a police shootout in the days after the explosions.

Lawyers for Tsarnaev tried to move the trial out of Boston, but the change of venue was denied. A last minute appeal to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to try to delay the trial and again move it out of Massachusetts was denied on Saturday.

Here are some of the things people are tweeting the before the start of the trial.

Once the plane arrived at O'Hare, an ambulance took the woman to an area hospital, where she was being evaluated

SALT LAKE CITY -- Three Utah officers returning from the funeral of a slain New York City policeman helped restrain an unruly passenger on a JetBlue Airways flight until the plane was diverted to Chicago.

The flight bound for Salt Lake City landed instead at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport late Sunday after the 32-year-old woman with a medical issue "created a disturbance," Chicago Police Department spokesman Thomas Sweeney said.

Once the plane arrived at O'Hare, an ambulance took the woman to an area hospital, where she was being evaluated, Sweeney said Monday. The woman was not arrested, and no charges were pending, he said.

JetBlue Airways spokeswoman Sharon A. Jones said Flight 71 departed from John F. Kennedy International Airport at 7:45 p.m. EST and arrived in Chicago around 10 p.m. CST.

The plane refueled before departing again. It landed at Salt Lake City International Airport around 1:40 a.m. MST, about three and a half hours late.

Salt Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Terry Wall and two officers from the Unified Police Department in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area described the experience at a news conference Monday, saying the flight crew seated the woman near them about an hour into the flight.

The woman had been fighting with her husband, who was aboard the plane, Unified Police Officer Robert Odor said.

After being seated near the officers, the woman started having a medical issue and became combative. The officers said she tried to kick and spit at them and a doctor who was assisting her.

Wall said they did not handcuff the woman but held her arms and legs for about an hour and a half until the plane landed.

Jones said there were no reports of injuries or any damage to the aircraft.

Wall, Odor and Unified Police Officer Cody Stromberg were among the thousands of mourners attending the Sunday funeral of Officer Wenjian Liu, who was killed in an ambush shooting along with another officer while sitting in their patrol car.

The family of Lincoln White Sr. filed a suit that names both the Ryder and Czelusniak funeral homes as defendants.

NORTHAMPTON — A Hampshire Superior Court judge told the parties in a civil suit against Ryder Funeral Home on Monday that she will take under advisement a motion to drop Czelusniak Funeral Home as a defendant in the case and the plaintiff's counter-request that the Northampton business and its director remain as defendants.

The family of Lincoln White Sr. filed the suit, which names both the Ryder and Czelusniak funeral homes as defendants. White, a Korean War veteran, died on May 4 of last year and his remains were supposed to be mixed with those of his late wife and buried by Ryder. However, White's family arrived at the South Hadley funeral home for his memorial service to find that Ryder had not prepared a ceremony and that Lincoln White's ashes had not been mixed with his wife's. In fact, funeral home officials acknowledged that they did not know the whereabouts of either White's ashes or his wife's.

The state suspended William A. Ryder's funeral director license in May after finding improperly stored or embalmed bodies in various states of decomposition at the South Hadley business. Ryder surrendered his license in July. Jay Czelusniak, the director of Czelusniak Funeral Home in Northampton, stepped in to handle some of the funeral arrangements after Ryder closed and is named as a defendant in the White suit.

Mark Aronson, who represents Czelusniak, told Judge Mary Lou Rup on Monday that his client was not responsible for the botched interment and, thus, could not be found negligent or guilty of inflicting emotional distress.

"There is no allegation that Czelusniak lost or mishandled the remains," he said. "Unfortunately, they inherited somebody else's mess."

Mary Jo Kennedy, who represents the White family, disagreed, saying that it could have been Czelusniak who lost the remains. Kennedy said there are 117 factual allegations in the White suit, many of them involving Czelusniak.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has also filed a civil suit against Ryder, alleging that the business failed to meet consumer standards for embalming and funeral arrangements.

Memories of the first black man elected to the U.S. Senate will find a home Tuesday in a book of condolences placed beneath his portrait at the Boston courthouse that bears his name.

Condolences follow news of death of former U.S. Sen. Ed Brooke.

By ANDY METZGER

BOSTON — Memories of the first black man elected to the U.S. Senate will find a home Tuesday in a book of condolences placed beneath his portrait at the Boston courthouse that bears his name.

Former aides to the late U.S. Sen. Ed Brooke, said he was sharp intellectually until his death Saturday at the age of 95.

Brian Lees, a former aide who rose to become state Senate minority leader, said the two-term Republican instilled in him the values of compromise, open-mindedness toward opposing viewpoints and respect for political opponents.

"A lot of the things I did and some of the positions I took were things I learned from him years ago," Lees told the News Service. He said Brooke was a strong proponent of "equal rights for all," including women's rights.

A Washington, D.C. native, Brooke was also the first black man elected state attorney general when he won the post in Massachusetts in 1962.

Tom Reid, who traveled with Brooke when he was in the Bay State, said Brooke wielded clout and federal dollars as the ranking Republican member of Senate committees on banking and appropriations. He said the Banking chairman, a Democrat had a practice of holding Saturday sessions where legislation would move with only the chairman's vote.

"He [Brooke] showed up one Saturday," said Reid, who said the practice ended then.

Both former aides said Brooke faced adversity running for office as a black man, and gained international fame for his historic election to the Senate.

"Especially in the very beginning it was tough running as a black and breaking some barriers," said Lees.

They both said Brooke wanted to be known for his accomplishments rather than his race.

"He did not like to be pigeon-holed on any subject," Lees said.

Lees said though Brooke remained a Republican he felt proud of the electoral successes of President Barack Obama and Gov. Deval Patrick, two Democrats who became the first black men to reach their offices.

"He liked Deval Patrick very much," said Lees.

"He carried the added honor and burden of being 'the first' and did so with distinction and grace. I have lost a friend and mentor. America has lost a superb example of selfless service," said Patrick in a statement.

In a press release, Obama said Brooke "led an extraordinary life of public service, including his time in the U.S. Army," and said Brooke's racial-barrier breakthroughs put him "at the forefront of the battle for civil rights and economic fairness."

Reid said Brooke was an "avid" tennis player until recent problems with his legs required him to use a wheelchair, and said Brooke would constantly "chide" him about smoking. Brooke drank tea instead of coffee, he said.

Brooke unsuccessfully sought election as state representative, lost to Kevin White for secretary of state, and along the way worked to build his own campaign signs and thanked his supporters after defeat, said Lees.

In 1966 when he was attorney general and living in Newton, Brooke beat Cambridge Democrat Endicott Peabody for election to the Senate, 1.2 million to about 775,000. Twelve years later, after discussion of his divorce bruised him politically, Brooke was defeated by Paul Tsongas, then a congressman from Lowell.

Reid said Brooke had worked with Tsongas on the bill creating a national park in Lowell. Both former aides described the 1978 campaign - in which Tsongas never raised the divorce publicly - as difficult.

"It was tough, I mean some people were very, very mean to him and said nasty things," Lees recalled. He said, "That's where he would say, 'Don't forget the public has their own opinion too.' And he was always kind to those people."

Lees said that after the defeat, Brooke stayed in Washington, his hometown, practiced law, and had a farm in the Virginia countryside. Brooke and his wife Anne had a home in St. Martin, where she is from, visited Martha's Vineyard, and moved to a high-rise in Miami. They later moved to a ground-floor home in Coral Gables.

The Brooke Courthouse on New Chardon Street, which houses criminal, housing, probate and other court services, will display the book from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.

Two years ago, a Florida man dies after winning a roach-eating contest at Siegel Reptiles.

A pet shop owner in Florida was arrested Friday after police say he used a bearded dragon lizard to assault his employees.

Bennamin Herman Siegel, owner of Siegel Reptiles in Deerfield Beach, was captured on video Friday putting a lizard in his mouth mouth, throwing it in the air and swinging it around his head, according to a Broward County Sheriff's office police report cited by USA Today.

The police report said Siegel, 40, who owns Siegel Reptiles also hit employees multiple times with the lizard, and threw Gatorade on them.

He is charged with two counts of battery and animal cruelty.

"The defendant did unnecessarily torment the animal, handling the animal in a cruel and/or inhumane manner and intentionally committed an act to the animal which results in excessive and repeated infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering to the animal," the report said.

A clerk at the store refused to comment on the incident to a reporter at the Broward/Palm Beach New Times.

Siegel's lawyer, Ken Padowitz, told the Sun-Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale he will vigorously defend his client.

"I'm in the process of conducting an investigation and looking into all the facts so I can best represent my client against these allegations," Padowitz told the newspaper. "I've known Mr. Siegel for some period of time. He runs a very successful business and I want to be able to know all the facts before I comment on them specifically."

At a court appearance Monday, Seigel said a deputy standing to him made him nervous. Judge John Hurley told Siegel the guard was following is orders.

WTJV-TV, NBC6, in South Florida, reported that Siegel was held on no bail Monday after the judge revoked bail from an earlier assault case.

The reptile case is not the first time Siegel Reptiles has made headlines, the Washington Post points out.

In 2012, a Florida man died after winning a roach-eating contest sponsored by the store.

Edward Archbold, 32, of West Palm Beach died as a result of "asphyxia due to choking and aspiration of gastric contents," according to the report released by the Broward County medical examiner's office.

Authorities have yet to release the identify of the motorists, who died after his vehicle went off the road just north of the Granby, Connecticut, line.

Updates story published at 2:18 p.m. Monday, Jan. 5.

Authorities did not immediately release the identity of the victim, who died after his vehicle went off the road near the Connecticut state line at about 1 p.m. The road was closed during the investigation and reopened at about 4:30 p.m.

The Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis & Reconstruction Section assisted with the probe.

Southwick Police Chief David Ricardi told 22News that the elderly motorist's car went off the road, struck a rock and flipped over.

This post will be updated as more details become available.

MAP showing approximate location of crash:

The design school founded in 1972 will open an "urban campus" in the fall of 2015.

EASTHAMPTON -- Starting in the fall of 2015, the Conway School of Landscape Design will offer its students the choice of two campuses: one in rural Conway, the school's hometown for 42 years, and now a second option, at Mill 180 in Easthampton.

The school will lease 3,100 square feet at the renovated mill at 180 Pleasant St., according to a press statement.

"In recent conversations with a range of applicants, we have found interest in both campuses: our beautiful, wooded main campus and this new urban setting with its access to bike paths, public transportation, and other amenities that support car-free living," said Conway School president Paul Cawood Hellmund.

"With the new Amtrak rail service through Northampton, rail access to New York City will be just a twenty-five minute bike ride away," Hellmund said.

Conway projects include farmland conservation and food security planning, landscape restoration and stewardship, urban park revitalization, and urban green infrastructure.

Students at the Conway School learn "by working on real projects for real clients," according to the school's literature. Its graduates "go on to play significant professional roles in various aspects of conservation planning, regenerative design, and ecological restoration."

The Conway School was founded in 1972 by landscape architect Walter Cudnohufsky and is the only college in the country to offer a master's degree in ecological design.

Mill 180 is a mixed-use restored 1899 mill building developed by LEED-certified architect Mike Michon. In addition to live/work spaces, it provides space for green businesses such as Cozy Home Performance and Urban Power USA, and will soon be the home of the High and Mighty Beer Company.