Riffenburg said a councilor should listen to residents of all political and social backgrounds.

HOLYOKE -- Mark Riffenburg, who was deputy city treasurer for two months, Monday (Jan. 5) offered himself as a candidate of change in announcing his campaign for the Ward 6 City Council seat in the Nov. 3 election.

"Since I began my journey in public service nearly seven years ago, I've been taking steps every day to connect with my community and to create change. I've taken these steps because I love my community," Riffenburg, 20, said at City Hall.

Riffenburg said the 15-member City Council, led by council President Kevin A. Jourdain, who also is running for the Ward 6 seat, has become a legislature resistant to new ideas. The council is prone to focusing on issues like the naming of the City Hall Christmas tree while too many councilors will shun a resident if they feel the resident has crossed them, he said.

"There's a lot of spite on the City Council," said Riffenburg, who ran unsuccessfully for council at large in 2013.

While all council seats are up for election every two years, the Ward 6 seat is more enticing this time because Todd A. McGee, the nine-year incumbent Ward 6 councilor, said Dec. 2 he won't run for reelection. McGee's term expires after 2015.

Jourdain, who is in his 22nd year on the council, announced Dec. 9 he would run for the seat with McGee opting out to ensure Ward 6 continues to have strong representation. Jourdain's entire council tenure has been as an at large member.

Riffenburg said he is employed as a political consultant. He worked on the failed campaign for governor of Democrat Martha M. Coakley, the former state attorney general, and on the campaign of Patrick T. Leahy, a Democrat who lost a bid for state Senate, in November.

"As Ward 6's next city councilor, I will work to bring respect and integrity back to the City Council, and send a message to the world that Holyoke is ready to lead again," Riffenburg said.

Reaching that goal, he said, requires that councilors be available to help all residents, "friends or foes, Republicans or Democrats, old Holyoke or new Holyoke."

"And for our brothers and sisters in the Latino community, know that while I may not speak your language, I will always hear your voices," Riffenburg said.

Riffenburg was asked later why he felt he would be a better Ward 6 councilor than Jourdain. He referred to the Essex House at 400 High St., a partially collapsed building downtown that could become a staple issue of the campaign. The council voted 10-3 on Sept. 23 to borrow $1.45 million to pay for the demolition of the then-134-year-old former hotel.

But that approval came only after the fire chief and building commissioner had advised the City Council in July that the building was in danger of collapsing. Jourdain was one of the three no votes on the demolition funding.

With the building still not demolished, one of officials' worst fears came to pass on Dec. 11 when slabs of brick that form the building's exterior walls broke off and plunged through the roof an adjacent hair salon. No one was physically injured in the falling debris but some High Street businesses have suffered because the street was closed to traffic.

The demolition of the building is underway now, but critics have faulted Jourdain and other councilors for failing to follow the advice of the fire chief and building commissioner and not approving funds sooner for the demolition.

Riffenburg said he understood that Jourdain and other councilors had concerns about other issues related to the Essex House. But city experts' warnings that the structure was a safety hazard should have taken priority, he said.

"As a city councilor, you have to be able to put your differences aside, and from what I see, he didn't," Riffenburg said.

Jourdain said Riffenburg's was a simple but misleading position. The City Council first received a request from city officials for money to demolish the Essex House in January 2014. The council voted unanimously Jan. 7, 2014 to approve spending $1.3 million to tear down the building, he said.

"I heeded advice of experts and voted for demolition," Jourdain said.

But problems occurred in the bidding process and the take down never happened. Mayor Alex B. Morse resubmitted a request for an appropriation, which the council Finance Committee discussed on July 23 in a meeting in which Fire Chief John A. Pond told councilors the Essex House had deteriorated into a danger.

"It is in a continuous state of collapse," Pond said.

But the Finance Committee that night tabled the request for $1.45 million. One question councilors had was over the form of the appropriation request submitted to the council, which was a request from the mayor that lacked the name of a councilor as a sponsor of the order, as is usual practice.

The issue of money to raze the Essex House next arose in the City Council on Aug. 5. But the council opted to return the funding proposal to committee.

Among issues councilors wanted discussed were the need for city departments to force owners to maintain properties so they don't deteriorate like the Essex House and ensure such owners pay taxes. Jourdain also filed an accompanying order seeking to have the city go to court to return the Essex House, taken by the city in June 2013 because of nonpayment of taxes, to its previous owners.

Jourdain said in a Sept. 11 interview that efforts by the mayor and other officials should have been devoted to forcing the previous owners to maintain the building and pay back taxes.

Jourdain rejected the idea that the council dragged its feet regarding demolition of the Essex House with the tabling and committee referral of financial requests over the summer.

"It certainly is not because of anything I or my fellow councilors did, and to say otherwise, ignores the facts," Jourdain said.

The issue highlights the need for a better process of evaluating which buildings the city will take ownership of when taxes aren't paid, he said.

"It is why you need someone with experience to form comprehensive answers to difficult situations," Jourdain said.

Thomas Gilbert Jr. was arrested on charges of murder and criminal possession of a weapon in the death of Thomas Gilbert Sr.

By COLLEEN LONG

NEW YORK - A 30-year-old man shot his hedge fund founder father to death inside his Manhattan apartment after the two argued over the son's allowance, police said Monday.

Thomas Gilbert Jr. 

Thomas Gilbert Jr. was arrested on charges of murder and criminal possession of a weapon in the death of Thomas Gilbert Sr., 70. He was being held pending arraignment and the law office representing him had no comment.

Police said Gilbert Jr. went to his parents' home on the East Side on Sunday afternoon and asked his mother to go out to get him some food. About 15 minutes later, she got a "bad feeling" and came back, said Robert Boyce, the chief of detectives for the New York Police Department.

"She found Senior on the floor with a bullet hole in the head," Boyce said. "She also found a gun resting on his chest with his left hand covering it."

But Boyce said it was a staged suicide -- his son was trying to cover up the killing. Officers with a search warrant went to Gilbert Jr.'s apartment on the West Side, where they found magazines, loose bullets and a shell that matched the gun found at the scene, police said. Authorities were investigating how he got the gun.

Gilbert Jr. was in debt and had argued with his father over his allowance, police said.

In 2011, the elder Gilbert founded Wainscott Capital Partners Fund, which has $200 million in assets. Industry publication Hedge Fund Alert said in an August 2013 article that the fund had a net return of nearly 25 percent in 2012. He was a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Business School.

Gilbert Jr. also attended Princeton, graduating in 2009 with a degree in economics. Authorities said he had no recent work history.

Gilbert Sr. worked on Wall Street for more than 40 years, according to his profile on Wainscott's website, and he previously co-founded Syzygy Therapeutics, a biotech asset acquisition fund. He also was founder and CEO of an online teacher-education company called Knowledge Delivery Systems Inc.

Wainscott had no immediate comment Monday. The hedge fund invests in biotechnology and health care stocks. The fund focuses on stocks traded on large exchanges like the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange, and the minimum amount for investors is $500,000.

"We're not cowboys," Gilbert said in a November interview with the publication FINalternatives. "People say, 'This guy can be up 40 percent but then he can be down 40 percent.' We would rather be up 20 percent and not have any down months or down years," he said.

The shooting was a rare act of violence in the Sutton Place neighborhood, a wealthy enclave just north of the United Nations.

Neighbor Pierre Gazarian, 75, remembered Gilbert as "incredibly courteous, elegant," and praised his "civility (and) caring."

"In a building in New York City, a lot of people barely say hello to each other," Gazarian said. "That makes the loss for some of us that much more painful."

The younger Gilbert has a pending criminal case in the town of Southampton, on eastern Long Island.

Gilbert, who has an address in the hamlet of Wainscott, was arrested Sept. 18 on a charge of criminal contempt. Southampton town police say he violated an order of protection issued in Brooklyn in June. Police say he confronted a man named Peter N. Smith at Sagg Main Beach in Sagaponack on Sept. 1.

He has pleaded not guilty and has a Feb. 2 court date scheduled in Southampton town court.

AP writer Matthew Perrone in Washington, Marley Seaman in New York and Frank Eltman in Garden City, N.Y., contributed to this report.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is set to lift off Tuesday morning from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to carry a Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station on a mission to resupply the orbiting outpost.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is set to lift off Tuesday morning from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to carry a Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station on a mission to resupply the orbiting outpost.

A SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket will carry a Dragon spacecraft carrying supplies to the International Space Station on Tuesday morning.AP / SpaceX 

Both SpaceX and NASA are offering live webcast coverage of the launch, scheduled for Jan. 6 at 6:20 a.m. EST. NASA has scheduled its live coverage to start at 5 a.m., and the player at the top of this article has the NASA UStream channel that simulcasts NASA-TV programming, including the launch. SpaceX plans to begin to live coverage at about 6 a.m. Its webcast is embedded at the end of this article in the Livestream player.

The launch, the fifth of at least 12 planned launches SpaceX is making for NASA under its Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract, is just the beginning of Tuesday's excitement: During the flight, SpaceX will attempt to land the Falcon 9's first stage on a custom-built ocean platform that it calls the "autonomous spaceport drone ship." It's the first time SpaceX has attemped the precision landing, which it gives a 50-50 shot at working.

According to SpaceX:

While SpaceX has already demonstrated two successful soft water landings, executing a precision landing on an unanchored ocean platform is significantly more challenging.

... this test represents the first in a series of similar tests that will ultimately deliver a fully reusable Falcon 9 first stage.

Returning anything from space is a challenge, but returning a Falcon 9 first stage for a precision landing presents a number of additional hurdles. At 14 stories tall and traveling upwards of 1300 m/s (nearly 1 mi/s), stabilizing the Falcon 9 first stage for reentry is like trying to balance a rubber broomstick on your hand in the middle of a wind storm.

"When you look at it on the ground, I think it's probably a very, very big platform, a big spaceport," Hans Koenigsmann, vice president for mission assurance at SpaceX, said Monday, according to the Associated Press. "But if you look at it from, I think, almost 150 or so miles up in suborbit, then it looks like a very, very small place to land on."

NASA says that if the Dragon launches successfully on Jan. 6, the spacecraft will rendezvous with the ISS at approximately 6 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8. NASA TV coverage will begin at 4:30 a.m., and installation coverage will begin around 8:15 a.m.

According to SpaceX, Dragon is expected to return to Earth 4½ weeks after launch in a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of southern California. Dragon is the only operational spacecraft that can return a significant amount of supplies back to Earth, including experiments.

What's on board

There's all sorts of interesting stuff among the 5,200 pounds of payload aboard the Dragon for the CRS-5 mission, including an IMAX camera, tools for spacewalks and material for science experiments. Here's the rundown from SpaceX:

The Dragon spacecraft will be filled with more than 5,200 pounds of supplies and payloads, including critical materials to support 256 science and research investigations that will occur during Expeditions 42 and 43. Science payloads will enable model organism research using fruit flies and will study flatworms to better understand wound healing in space.

One science payload is the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS), a laser remote sensing experiment that will orbit on the International Space Station. CATS will characterize and measure the worldwide distribution of clouds and aerosols: tiny particles that make up haze, dust, air pollutants and smoke. Knowing where aerosols are in the atmosphere can be critically important, as these particles can affect weather, climate, airplane safety, and human health. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, developed the instrument. For more on CATS, visit: www.nasa.gov/cats.

The mission also delivers an IMAX camera for filming during four increments and tools that will be used in future spacewalks to prepare the station for the installation of the new international docking adapters. After four weeks at the space station, the spacecraft will return with over 3,600 pounds of cargo and packaging, including crew supplies, hardware and computer resources, science experiments, space station hardware and trash.

Pedro Vasquez, 40, formerly of 19 Knollwood St., Springfield, is expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Springfield District Court on charges of murder, discharging a gun within 500 feet of a dwelling, possession of a gun during commission of a felony, and carrying a loaded firearm.

Updates story published at 9:41 a.m. Monday, Jan. 5.

Pedro Vasquez, 40, formerly of 19 Knollwood St., Springfield, is expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Springfield District Court on charges of murder, discharging a gun within 500 feet of a dwelling, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, and carrying a loaded gun, Springfield police spokesman Sgt. John Delaney said.

The victim's identity will likely be released Tuesday, according to police.

Detectives tracked Vasquez to 28 Newland St., an address in the Brightwood section of the North End, and arrested him on Monday night for the early-morning killing, which authorities believe was a case of domestic violence.

At 5:50 a.m., officers responded to Scott Street and found a black Jeep with the engine revving parked near the entrance to White Street Elementary School. Inside the vehicle was a shooting victim who was pronounced dead at the scene, Delaney said.

The investigation was led by Lt. Thomas Kennedy and Sgt. Jeffrey Martucci, members of the Springfield Police Detective Bureau.

Police Commissioner John Barbieri praised uniformed officers who responded to the initial call and detectives who quickly hunted down Vasquez, noting that the suspect was arrested less than 14 hours after the shooting.

Barbieri also offered condolences to the victim's family, saying "this type of crime saddens the entire community."

Monday's shooting was the city's second homicide of the new year. On Jan. 1, Shawnecki Gladden, 18, was gunned down while walking his with his father near Mill and Knox streets shortly after midnight. Gladden's father also was injured in the shooting, but his injuries were not life-threatening, police said.

MAP showing approximate location of Forest Park homicide scene:

A short term and long term solution is needed, school officials said.

WILBRAHAM - School officials appeared before the Board of Selectmen Monday night and said that a special town meeting may be needed next fall if changes are needed to the regional school agreement.

Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School Committee Chair Marc Ducey said a Middle School Task Force has been "hard at work" and so far has voted to support moving to a single middle school for the towns of Hampden and Wilbraham.

School Superintendent M. Martin O'Shea told selectmen he would like to see a single middle school for the district implemented by the fall of 2016, if possible.

Such a move would permit expanded programming and for the program to operate "more efficiently," O'Shea said.

Enrollment in the school district is projected to decline or flatten out through 2024, O'Shea said.

"There are many questions still to be answered," Ducey said, such as where a single middle school would be.

"One middle school fits the needs of the district better," he said.

O'Shea said school officials are looking for a short-term and a long-term solution.

Other school districts in the area also are experiencing declining enrollment, Ducey said. He said the trend is not expected to change until more seniors start selling their houses.

Currently, the district has two middle schools: Thornton Burgess Middle School in Hampden and Wilbraham Middle School.

With middle school enrollment declining rapidly in the school district, there is a corresponding loss of state Chapter 70 aid per student which is making it cost prohibitive to operate two middle schools, school officials say.

Selectmen said they will alert the town clerk to include money in her fiscal 2016 budget for a possible fall special town meeting.

Petco is the first national pet retailer to pull the treats from its 1,300 stores.

LOS ANGELES -- Petco said Monday it has removed all remaining Chinese-made dog and cat treats from its website and stores nationwide because of concerns they have sickened thousands of pets and killed 1,000 dogs in the U.S. since 2007.

Petco

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says initial tests have not connected the Chinese jerky and rawhide treats to the illnesses, but the San Diego-based company and its rival PetSmart vowed in May to ban the snacks.

Petco is the first national pet retailer to pull the treats from its 1,300 stores. Phoenix-based PetSmart Inc. said Monday that it plans to have them off shelves at its roughly 1,300 stores by March.

The FDA targeted the treats after receiving more than 4,800 complaints of pet illnesses, including the deaths, after pets ate chicken, duck or sweet potato jerky treats from China. Tests have not confirmed any connection, but the agency is still investigating.

An FDA spokeswoman on Monday pointed to a news release from May about its investigation and declined further comment.

Petco Vice President John Sturm said all treats are now made in the U.S. or places such as the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia and South America. The company risked tens of millions of dollars by changing treat vendors, he said.

The new plaintiffs are Therese Serignese, who said Cosby raped her in 1976, and Linda Traitz, who alleges Cosby groped her in 1970.

BOSTON -- Two Florida women accusing Bill Cosby of sexual offenses decades ago have joined a defamation lawsuit, contending he publicly branded them as liars through statements by his representatives.

The amended federal complaint was filed Monday in western Massachusetts, near where Cosby has a home.

The lawsuit was filed last month by Tamara Green, who said Cosby drugged and assaulted her in the 1970s. The new plaintiffs are Therese Serignese, who said Cosby raped her in 1976, and Linda Traitz, who alleges Cosby groped her in 1970.

Cosby's publicist David Brokaw and lawyer Martin Singer didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Singer has said he expected to prevail in the original lawsuit.

Since November, at least 15 women have said Cosby sexually assaulted them decades ago. He's never been charged.

The council president has called on colleagues to respect to each other.

WESTFIELD - Veteran City Councilor Brian P. Sullivan is the unanimous choice among his colleagues to serve as council president for 2015.

The election Monday night gives Sullivan an eighth one-year term as president during his City Council tenure that started in 1998. He has previously served as president in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2013.

Sullivan was nominated by City Councilor Cindy C. Harris. Also, City Councilor Mary L. O'Connell nominated Councilor David A. Flaherty, but Flaherty withdrew his nomination after a short speech outlining what he would like the council to do in 2015. That included being an independent body "that should be antagonistic if necessary" in its review of municipal issues.

Sullivan said he wants the council to show respect to each other at all times. "We do not have to agree but we need to respect each other," Sullivan said.

Sullivan's election ties him with the late Charles W. Medeiros who also served eight terms as president of the council during his 32 years as a city councilor.

City Councilor Brent B. Bean II served as council president during 2014.

Burgess was southbound near 26 College Highway when his vehicle left the roadway, struck a large rock, then rolled over, according to investigators.

Updates story published at 8:15 p.m. Monday, Jan. 5.

Burgess was southbound near 26 College Highway at about 1 p.m. when his car went off the road, struck a large rock, then flipped over, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The road was closed during the probe and reopened at about 4:30 p.m.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation by Southwick police and the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis & Reconstruction Section.

MAP showing approximate location of crash:

"This kid was a good kid. He didn't deserve that to happen," the mayor said, referring to 18-year-old Shawnki Gladden, who was shot to death while walking with his father early New Year's Day.

Mayor Domenic Sarno 

"We're making headway," Sarno said Monday, referring to Springfield's never-ending war on crime, which declined by more than 20 percent last year including a 30 percent decrease in homicides.

To that end, detectives quickly arrested a murder suspect in connection with Monday morning's fatal shooting of a woman in the Forest Park neighborhood. The victim was found dead inside an SUV parked next to White Street Elementary School around 5:50 a.m. Monday.

That shooting followed the New Year's Day killing of 18-year-old Shawnki Gladden, a High School of Commerce student who was gunned down around 12:20 a.m. while walking with his father near the intersection of Mill and Knox streets.

"I know they're working hard on this," Sarno said of detectives probing the Gladden case. "This kid was a good kid. He didn't deserve that to happen."

As mayor, Sarno says he's affected by every killing in Springfield. But the city's latest homicides have hit home on another level: Sarno is an alumnus of the High School of Commerce and he attended White Street Elementary School as a kid.

Meanwhile, Gladden's 39-year-old father, Rashawn "Poppa Shawn" Gladden, also was wounded in the shooting that killed his son. The senior Gladden continues to recover from a non-life-threatening gunshot injury.

"He's doing a little better," Takisha Haines, a Gladden family member, said in a Facebook post. "He wants to thank everybody for the prayers and to please continue to keep him and his family in your prayers for the loss of his son," she said.

M. Allegra D'Ambruoso, librarian at the High School of Commerce, recalled Shawnki Gladden as the sort of kid she once had to kick out of class but who had since straightened himself out.

"He was turning himself around, slowly but surely. He was becoming an adult, making better choices, getting himself closer to graduation," she said in a blog post titled "Something I should not have to post.

"This was a kid that I honestly liked, even when he made me want to pull my hair out," D'Ambruoso said. "This was a kid that I wanted to cheer for as he graduated."

The Army is searching for a suspect after an "active shooter" was reported at a West Texas military hospital.

EL PASO, Texas -- An "active shooter" was reported Tuesday at a West Texas medical complex that includes an Army hospital and a veterans' medical clinic, a spokesman at Fort Bliss said.

Fort Bliss spokesman Gil Telles said the "active shooter" was reported shortly before 4 p.m. at the complex that includes the William Beaumont Army Medical Center and the El Paso Veterans Affairs Health Care System.

It was unclear if the shooting happened at the Army hospital or the VA hospital. The El Paso VA Health Care System posted a notice online saying that the VA clinic would be closed Wednesday, but didn't provide a reason. The notice said veterans with appointments there would be contacted to reschedule them.

U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke released a statement saying his "thoughts and prayers are with the men and women at the El Paso VA clinic."

The Army wouldn't say what prompted the shooting. Officials said more details would be revealed Tuesday night.

The VA clinic near where the shooting took place came under scrutiny last year after a federal audit showed it had some of the nation's longest wait times for veterans' trying to see a doctor for the first time.

Authorities said the family had some issues with Felix Almonte, a stepson who is believed to have carried out the attack.

A deputy sheriff and three family members were found shot to death in Hiram, Georgia Tuesday afternoon in what authorities believe was a murder-suicide.

The deputy, Samuel Driskell, 52, his 36-year-old-wife Muachin Driskell, their 12-year-old daughter Carolyn Driskell and 21-year-old stepson Felix Almonte were found inside their Paulding County home shortly after 1:30 p.m. after Driskell failed to show up for a court assignment, Corp. Ashley Henson, told the New York Daily News.

USA Today reported that it appears Almonte shot and killed the other three, and then killed himself. The Daily News reported that attack is believed to have taken place sometime overnight.

Other deputies became concerned when Driskell failed to show up in court earlier in the day, an absence that they believed was uncharacteristic of him, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The sheriff's office called the Georgia Bureau of Investigation after the bodies were found. Officials from both agencies released details during an afternoon press conference.

According to the Constitution Journal, Driskell was a corporal in the crimes against children unit of the Paulding County Sheriff's office, where he had worked for 10 years.

"In September, Driskell was awarded the Paulding County Board of Commissioner's Public Safety Award for his exemplary service," the newspaper reported. "He also served as the Georgia Sheriffs' Association Region 2 director for the sex offender registry."

The Macon County Telegraph quoted Sheriff Gary Gulledge as saying that Driskell was asleep when he was shot in the head. He said that Driskell's holster was empty when he was found, and that he was shot with his service weapon. The Daily News quoted Gulledge as saying that the family had some issues with the stepson.

"There's no rhyme or reason for it," Gulledge said at a press conference. "Our hearts are broken ... we lost one of the best guys we've ever had."

WSB-TV, Channel 2 in Atlanta, talked to a relative who said she was still in shock about the incident.

"My grandpa called to let us know to stay in the house, lock the doors. They told us everything they knew, about, you know, they were dead and they were found in their house," Haley Smallwood told a reporter from the television station. "That's it. They just told us to be careful."

Special agent Greg Ramey of the GBI described all four bodies as being within 12 to 15 feet of each other. There did not appear to be a struggle, he said.

WGCL-TV, CBS46 in Atlanta reported that Driskell met his wife, who was from the Dominica Republican, when he was in the military.

The moves suggest that investors have little confidence the U.S. economy will continue to grow at the 5 percent annual pace reached in the third quarter of last year.

By STEVE ROTHWELL

NEW YORK — The U.S. economy ended last year on a tear, but financial markets are saying the outlook for this year is less bright.

Stocks continued to retreat from their recent record highs on Tuesday, weighed down by an ongoing plunge in the price of oil. Bonds rallied as investors bought the safest assets, pushing the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note back below 2 percent for the first time in three months.

The moves suggest that investors have little confidence the U.S. economy will continue to grow at the 5 percent annual pace reached in the third quarter of last year. As a consequence, company earnings will suffer. The reason for the gloomy prognosis is a slowdown in growth elsewhere in world, particularly Europe.

The slump in the price of oil, which dropped well below $50 a barrel Tuesday from $107 in June, has also prompted a sharp shift in the mood of investors.

"Oil prices falling is a good thing for the economy overall," said Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives with the Schwab Center for Financial Research. "But there is a point when they fall far enough that it could potentially be a problem."

The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 17.97 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,002.61. The index fell as much as 28 points earlier. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 130.01 points, or 0.7 percent, at 17,371.64. The Nasdaq composite dropped 59.84 points, or 1.3 percent, to 4,592.74.

While drivers filling up at gas stations are welcoming lower oil prices, investors are getting worried about the consequences of the slump, which has pushed the oil down by more than half in six months. On Tuesday, the price of oil fell $2.11 to $47.93, its lowest level since April 2009.

If prices stay low, some companies in the energy industry will go out of business because the cost of extracting oil will exceed its price. Not only will that cost jobs, it will lead to lower spending on plants and equipment.

On Tuesday, U.S. Steel said it will temporarily lay off about 750 employees from two plants that make tubular steel used in oil and gas drilling. The Pittsburgh-based company said it is making the moves in response to lower oil prices and competition from foreign companies.

Investors also got some discouraging news on the economy.

Orders to U.S. factories fell for a fourth straight month in November, stoking investors' concerns about growth. Factory orders dropped 0.7 percent in November after falling by the same amount in October, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. The weakness was due to lower demand for primary metals, industrial machinery and military aircraft.

The Institute for Supply Management said Tuesday that its services index fell to 56.2 last month, down from 59.3 in November.

For some, the drop in bond yields is worrying because it signals a move toward falling prices, or deflation.

Lower prices may seem attractive, but they can damage a country's growth. Consumers and businesses can start cutting back spending as they wait for prices to drop further.

Oil prices "are adding to the fear of deflation spreading to the global economy," said Peter Cardillio, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital. "That's what the real fear is all about."

Bond prices, meanwhile, are rallying in part because U.S. yields, even at their low levels, are attractive to overseas investors.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which falls when prices rise, dropped to 1.96 percent from 2.03 percent on Monday.

The yield on the 10-year German government bond, by contrast, is just 0.44 percent, and France's 10-year bond yields 0.74 percent. The comparable Japanese government bond yields 0.28 percent.

Bonds yields in Europe have plummeted as growth in that region wavers and investors start to worry about Greece. The government there might try to renegotiate the terms of its bailout and exit the euro bloc if an anti-austerity party wins national elections this month.

In the U.S., financial stocks fell the most among the 10 industry sectors in the S&P 500 index. Weaker growth would mean less demand for loans, and lower interest rates mean that the profits banks make on loans will be lower.

Among individual stocks, Michael Kors was the biggest loser in the S&P 500.

The stock slumped $6.13, or 8.4 percent, to $66.87 after analysts at Credit Suisse cut their price target on the company's stock to $79 from $103. The move followed what they described as a "dramatic" increase in promotional activity at the luxury retailer, suggesting that it is struggling to maintain growth rates.

AOL was one of the stocks to buck the downward trend. The stock climbed $1.51, or 3.4 percent, to $46.25 after Bloomberg reported that Verizon had approached the company about a potential acquisition or joint venture to expand its mobile video offerings. Verizon gained 47 cents, or 1 percent, to $47.04.

In other trading, precious metals futures mostly rose. Gold increased $15.40 to $1,219.40 an ounce, silver rose 42 cents to $16.64 an ounce and copper was flat at $2.77 a pound.

In the energy market, Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell $2.01 to close at $51.10 in London.

In other futures trading on the NYMEX:

1. Wholesale gasoline fell 2.7 cents to close at $1.354 a gallon.
2. Heating oil fell 2.3 cents to close at $1.726 a gallon.
3. Natural gas rose 5.6 cents to close at $2.938 per 1,000 cubic feet.

U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said the funds were seized from 13 different financial institutions as a result of seizure warrants unsealed Tuesday.

BOSTON -- Authorities have seized over $18 million from the owners of a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy at the center of a 2012 meningitis outbreak that killed 64 people nationwide.

U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said the funds were seized from 13 different financial institutions as a result of seizure warrants unsealed Tuesday.

About $16.8 million was frozen in accounts connected to husband-and-wife Douglas and Carla Conigliaro of Dedham. Carla Conigliaro was a majority shareholder at the now-shuttered New England Compounding Center in Framingham.

The Conigliaros have been charged with transferring assets following the outbreak, which was traced to tainted steroid injections made by the company.

According to Ortiz's office, the Conigliaros transferred millions of dollars the same month that their company surrendered its pharmacy license and shortly before the company petitioned for bankruptcy. They also allegedly transferred millions more after a bankruptcy court issued two orders prohibiting them from transferring any assets.

Authorities say they seized another $1.5 million from accounts held by Barry Cadden, the company's co-founder and a shareholder.

Cadden faces 25 counts of second-degree murder and is among 14 former employees charged in a federal racketeering conspiracy that authorities say is the largest U.S. criminal case ever brought over contaminated medicine.

New England Compounding Center employees are accused of using expired ingredients and failing to follow cleanliness standards, resulting in tainted steroid injections. More than 750 people in 20 states fell ill and 64 died. All 14 defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The grant application must be filed by Feb. 15.

SOUTHWICK - The Board of Selectmen approved seeking $900,000 in state Community Development Block Grant funding to support street improvements to Veteran Street, purchase of a mobile food pantry and several housing rehabilitation projects.

The application, that will be filed with the state Department of Housing and Community Development by a Feb. 15 deadline, is similar to a failed application from last year. The difference this year is the new application can document public participation in both need and support.

The town is supported in its request by James M. Mazik, deputy director of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.

Selectmen approved the application Monday night immediately following a public hearing on the request.

Community Food Pantry director Sally Munson told selectmen the pantry has grown and is receiving requests from hilltown residents that it cannot assist.

She said the mobile food pantry will allow the pantry to serve residents in Granville and Southwick. The cost to purchase the necessary van, staffing and operating expenses is listed at about $93,000.

Veteran Street improvements include reconstruction, drainage and water service upgrades at an estimated cost of $479,000.

Remaining funds, if the grant is approved, will be used to assist families whose homes are listed on the town's waiting list for housing rehabilitation. At least four homes here and five in Granville will receive funding is the application is approved.

Mazik said if approved, families slated for assistance should be notified by fall.

The funky clothing and gift store, originally "Faces of Earth," has been in business more than 40 years.

NORTHAMPTON — The landmark downtown retail store known as Faces, located 175 Main Street, will close its doors for good in early 2015, owner Peter Vogel said in a statement Tuesday.

The funky, friendly clothing and gift shop, known for its ever-changing creative window displays, has been in business for more than 40 years, and has operated at its Northampton location for a quarter-century.

Vogel said in a prepared statement he did not make the decision to close lightly, and cited the pressures of running an independent store, including the increasing costs of health insurance, personnel, taxes and business insurance, and utilities. He thanked his employees, vendors, customers, and members of the downtown business community.

Vogel did not return telephone calls seeking further comment.

Steve Vogel, Peter Vogel's father, co-founded Faces of Earth in Amherst in 1971. A second store in downtown Northampton was opened in 1986; in 1991 the Amherst store closed for good. Faces added a second floor at its Northampton location in 1994.

Vogel said the store remains profitable, and that any inquires about purchasing the business should be directed to him in writing at the store. Vogel has asked not to be contacted by telephone.

Anyone interested in adopting the animals may e-mail Hadley Police Officer Mitchell Kuc, who doubles as the town's animal control officer, at kucm@hadleyma.gov. The Police Department may be reached at 413-584-0883.

Anyone interested in adopting the animals may e-mail Hadley Police Officer Mitchell Kuc, who doubles as the town's animal control officer, at kucm@hadleyma.gov. The Police Department may be reached at 413-584-0883. (HADLEY POLICE DEPARTMENT / FACEBOOK) 

"The previous owners left them in a crate with a note saying that they could no longer care for them," Hadley police said in a post on the department's Facebook page.

Both animals are 9 years old and appear to be siblings, police said.

Anyone interested in adopting them may e-mail Hadley Police Officer Mitchell Kuc, who's also the town's animal control officer, at kucm@hadleyma.gov.

Hadley authorities say they may soon have additional cats ready for adoption. The Police Department may be reached at 413-584-0883.

Prosecutors had been pushing for a 10-year sentence.

By LARRY O'DELL
and ALAN SUDERMAN

RICHMOND, Va. -- Family members and friends wept softly as former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell told the judge at his sentencing hearing that he couldn't "fathom any deeper humiliation" for taking bribes from a wealthy businessman to promote a dietary supplement.

Then, the tears mostly stopped. Some even turned to smiles when the judge sentenced McDonnell to two years in prison -- far below the 10 years prosecutors originally wanted for the Republican, who was once on the short list to be Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate.

McDonnell, who held his head in his hands and sobbed when he was convicted in September on 11 counts of corruption, was stoic as U.S. District Judge James Spencer delivered the sentence in a courtroom packed with the former governor's supporters.

McDonnell had asked for no jail time, only community service. In a strong but somber voice, McDonnell told the judge he was "a heartbroken and humbled man" and that he holds himself accountable.

"I allowed my life to get way out of balance," he said. "I cannot fathom any deeper humiliation for me or my family."

The judge noted the outpouring of support for McDonnell -- more than 400 people wrote letters -- and concluded that "he is a good and decent man who has done a lot of good in the public area."

"It breaks my heart, but I have a duty I can't avoid," the judge said.

A jury in September found McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, guilty of public corruption. The couple accepted gifts including a $6,500 engraved Rolex watch, $20,000 in designer clothing and accessories, and free family vacations in exchange for promoting a purported miracle cure made by Star Scientific Inc.

Maureen McDonnell, who attended Tuesday's hearing, will be sentenced Feb. 20 on eight counts.

The company's former CEO, Jonnie Williams, testified under immunity as the prosecution's star witness in a case that exposed the details of the McDonnells' shaky finances and troubled marriage.

Outside the courthouse, McDonnell thanked the judge for mercy and vowed to fight his convictions on appeal.

"I've hurt myself, my family and my beloved people of Virginia and for that I am deeply, deeply sorry. But I will also say to the great people of Virginia that I have never, ever betrayed my sacred oath of office in any way while I served as the governor of this great commonwealth," McDonnell told reporters.

Law enforcement officials said that the prison sentence delivered a message.

"No elected official, irrespective of their popularity or the power they wield, is above the law," FBI agent Adam S. Lee said.

Before sentencing, defense lawyers called a parade of character witnesses to enumerate McDonnell's good qualities -- his integrity and compassion for the less fortunate in particular -- and good deeds in both public and private life.

Several witnesses said a lenient sentence was warranted because McDonnell had already suffered significantly from the fallout of a highly public and embarrassing investigation and trial. Former Democratic Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder said that if not for McDonnell's legal troubles, he would be remembered as one of Virginia's finest governors and would be a strong candidate for president.

"He's been punished, been punished indelibly," said Wilder.

Wilder received a loud round of applause after sparring with prosecutor Michael Dry and pointing out that Williams "walked away clean."

Dry said Williams was in a different category.

"The Mr. Williamses of the world are a dime a dozen. Corrupt governors are not," Dry said.

At trial, McDonnell acknowledged he accepted Williams' largesse but said he did nothing for him in return other than extend routine political courtesies.

McDonnell is the first Virginia governor, and the 12th nationally, convicted of corruption, federal officials said. Others include Rod Blagojevich of Illinois, who is serving 14 years for a scheme to sell President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat; Edwin Edwards of Louisiana, who was sentenced to 10 years for extorting money from casino license applicants; and Arch Moore of West Virginia, who got nearly six years for extorting money from a coal operator and other offenses. Some have escaped jail time altogether.

The public corruption case in Virginia prompted the General Assembly to tighten the state's murky ethics laws, and some Virginia elected officials have voluntarily limited the value of gifts they will accept.

McDonnell, 60, delivered the 2010 Republican response to the State of the Union Address and became chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2011. He was indicted 10 days after leaving the office.

At trial, the McDonnells' defense strategy depended in large part on convincing the jury that their marriage was so strained that they could not have conspired to squeeze bribes out of Williams. They arrived at and left the courthouse separately every day and rarely even glanced at each other as they sat separated by lawyers at the defense table.

AP writer Michael Felberbaum contributed to this report.

The capsule was embedded in a cornerstone of the Massachusetts Statehouse when construction began in 1795.

BOSTON -- Early residents of Boston valued a robust press as much as their history and currency if the contents of a time capsule dating back to the years just after the Revolutionary War are any guide.

When conservators at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston gingerly removed items from the box Tuesday, they found five tightly folded newspapers, a medal depicting George Washington, a silver plaque, two dozen coins, including one dating to 1652, and the seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

While some of the coins appeared corroded, other items were in good condition and fingerprints could be seen on the silver plaque.

The capsule was embedded in a cornerstone of the Massachusetts Statehouse when construction began in 1795. It was placed there by Revolutionary era luminaries including Paul Revere and Samuel Adams, governor of Massachusetts at the time.

The contents were shifted to what was believed to be a copper box in 1855 and placed back into the foundation of Statehouse. The box remained there until it was rediscovered last year during an ongoing water filtration project at the building. The box was actually brass, according to conservators.

The oldest coin in the box was a 1652 "Pine Tree Schilling," made at a time when the colony didn't have royal authority to create its own currency. Pine trees were a valuable commodity at the time. The trees were used as ship masts.

Michael Comeau, executive director of the Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum, said he has seen the coins offered for as much at $75,000, although given the context of this particular coin and the association with Paul Revere and Samuel Adams, the value would likely be much higher.

The newspapers were folded in such a way that the names of the publications weren't always visible, but one might have been a copy of the Boston Evening Traveller -- a newspaper operation that was eventually absorbed into the current Boston Herald.

A portion of one of the papers that was visible showed a listing of the arrivals of whalers from various ports to Boston. Conservators didn't try to unfold the papers.

Pam Hatchfield, the head of objects conservation for the museum, removed each item using a slew of tools including her grandfather's dental tool. Hatchfield said the paper in the box was in "amazingly good condition."

Massachusetts state Secretary William Galvin said he expects the items will be on display at the museum for a period of time, but that eventually they will again be returned to the foundation to be discovered by a future generation of Bay State residents.

Galvin said he didn't know if modern items might be added to the foundation.

Comeau said the objects in the box are a bridge back in time.

"This is the stuff of history," he said.

Gillespie said he has a license to sell up to 15 used cars at the site.

LUDLOW - The Board of Selectmen Tuesday continued for two weeks a hearing on a license to sell used cars held by Brian Gillespie of Gillespie Auto Sales at 407 West Street.

Gillespie said he has a license to sell up to 15 used cars at the site.

He said other parts of his business involve the repossession of cars and automobile repairs. He said he currently has 47 cars on the site.

Police Sgt. Louis Tulik told selectmen he has been seeking to get on the site for several months to look at Gillespie's books for the sale of cars, which he is permitted to do under state law for used car businesses. He said Gillespie is never at the site when he has stopped by during normal business hours and he said Gillespie repeatedly has failed to return his calls.

Complaints to police by town residents state that used cars they have purchased have failed to pass inspections after Gillespie said the cars have been repaired.

Building Inspector Justin Larivee told selectmen that Gillespie still has cars on the site which he had five years ago.

Larivee added that although Larivee has a permit to sell used cars, he has no permit from the Planning Board to do car repossessions or repairs.

Larivee said Gillespie once applied for a permit from the Planning Board for car repossessions, but he never followed through by attending a public hearing scheduled on the application.

Selectmen on Tuesday voted to continue for two weeks the hearing on Gillespie's used car license.

The hearing was continued to give Tulik an additional two weeks to inspect the business and look at Gillespie's records of bills of sales and to receive additional information from the building inspector on the permits Gillespie holds from the Planning Board.

Tulik said that since he has been trying to get on the site, Gillespie has had some cars at the business towed.

The hearing on Gillespie's used car license was continued by selectmen until Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m.